tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54013672452427009382015-07-18T05:08:58.707-04:00A Welsh Birder AbroadBirding, and other Natural History notes from a Welsh Birder living in New York.Anthony Collertonnoreply@blogger.comBlogger124125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-61911208025121845022015-05-31T18:46:00.000-04:002015-06-02T17:08:00.189-04:00The Big DipperTwo big misses in New York State<br /><br />One of the truisms of birding is that the more you look the more you see, and conversely, if you don't go birding you don't see very much. &nbsp;Recently my schedule has kept me tied to the City with occasional trips to East Hampton and, not-surprisingly, I've ended up missing some good birds as a result.<br /><br />On May 16th Shai Mitra and Pat Lindsay found a BAR-TAILED GODWIT at Jamaica Bay (and not the bird previously reported from New Jersey). &nbsp;They stumbled into the bird right next to the main trail on the West Pond and got the word out quickly allowing a handful of first responders to get distant looks at the bird before it flew off a short-time later (other birders were still en route and missed it). &nbsp;I had birded the morning in Central Park and then headed to the office, getting word of the bird's arrival and departure simultaneously when I checked my email in the afternoon. &nbsp;It would have been an ABA bird for me so I spent 7 hours there the next day, birding the rising tide in the hope of a repeat performance, but lightening did not strike twice.<br /><br />The next week, during the week, a LITTLE EGRET was found at Gardiner County Park in Suffolk County. &nbsp;Another potential ABA bird but this time I knew I had no chance of chasing it until Sunday - a combination of work and house guests meant that I couldn't possibly get away until that day so nothing to do except hope that the bird stuck around. &nbsp;The signs were good when the egret remained loyal to the same site a second day but, perhaps inevitably, it didn't stick around for the weekend (as least as far as we know).<br /><br />My consolation that weekend was some nice local birding, enjoying breeding birds and some late migrants near my house in NorthWest Harbor. &nbsp;I did see breeding Least Terns and Piping Plovers with young, the full-suite of 30-or-so species that breed in and around the yard, and two new birds for my yard list, a WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW and a surprise BROAD-WINGED HAWK. &nbsp;Very pleasant local stuff and for the record I did, as always, check each of the 5 Snowy Egrets at the local marsh very carefully ....<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GfcifM6TWNc/VWuKA7ifnKI/AAAAAAAACM4/BSXPiKlVoZc/s1600/IMG_7104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GfcifM6TWNc/VWuKA7ifnKI/AAAAAAAACM4/BSXPiKlVoZc/s400/IMG_7104.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White-crowned Sparrow - new for the yard list and <br />Scarlet Tanager - two males singing close to the yard this year&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B3_eBY8yqpo/VWuKCP-6HkI/AAAAAAAACNA/NbxwE2l4BlM/s1600/IMG_7128.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B3_eBY8yqpo/VWuKCP-6HkI/AAAAAAAACNA/NbxwE2l4BlM/s400/IMG_7128.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Convinced that my bad luck had settled in, I really debated whether I should chase the next good bird that came along. &nbsp;When Deborah Allen found a FRANKLIN'S GULL at Plum Beach in Brooklyn this week I wondered if I'd even try to go and see it, especially after my 5 failed attempts at the Mew Gull in Brooklyn this Winter. &nbsp;The signs looked better for this one though as the Franklin's Gull seemed to have paired with a Laughing Gull and was being seen regularly during the week. &nbsp;Plus I'd seen the species before in New York State - a good bird but not one I desperately needed so I figured my chances might be better.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Oe3WHShVGoM/VWuJ-9ksf_I/AAAAAAAACMw/uifEzm6s7vs/s1600/IMG_7142.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Oe3WHShVGoM/VWuJ-9ksf_I/AAAAAAAACMw/uifEzm6s7vs/s400/IMG_7142.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>As it turned out, this twitch was easy. &nbsp;I walked up to the site, saw a group of birders with scopes, walked over and was soon on the bird. &nbsp;It was a bit distant for good photos but I was able to grab a few record shots and had a nice chance to study Laughing and Franklin's Gulls side by side. &nbsp;All very pleasant, and even though it took me over an hour to drive the 5 miles back to the City (gotta love New York in Summer), it was a nice trip and hopefully a sign that my luck is turning.<br /><br /><br />My photos were distant and not really very good but for some better photos check out Andrew Baksh's blog post&nbsp;<a href="http://birdingdude.blogspot.com/2015/06/franklins-gull-in-brooklyn-ny.html" target="_blank">here</a>.Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7127837 -74.00594130000001840.3275822 -74.651388300000022 41.097985200000004 -73.360494300000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-43912191735272602422015-05-31T17:21:00.000-04:002015-05-31T17:21:29.556-04:00There be sharks!If you don't know Ocean Search then you should really check it out.<br /><br />So the movie Jaws introduced us to the idea that Great White Sharks live on the US East Coast but the fishermen and other nature folks have now this for generations. &nbsp;Unfortunately the history of sharks on the East Coast is more than a little bit one sided ... we killed them ... and continue to kill them ... in large numbers. &nbsp;Montauk in particular was, and is, a center of shark slaughter ... sickening photos of sad little men standing next to dead sharks are still on display every week, even today. &nbsp;But there is a bit of a bright spot ... the folks at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ocearch.org/" target="_blank">Oceansearch</a>&nbsp;have been tagging and tracking sharks on the East Coast and have started the long, slow, process of changing their image from Man-Killers to the amazing complex creatures that they are.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UHYXo3riIlU/VWs1r6tD4LI/AAAAAAAACME/XScQ3fdV-1k/s1600/11329901_10155538348320167_436070810865637144_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="147" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UHYXo3riIlU/VWs1r6tD4LI/AAAAAAAACME/XScQ3fdV-1k/s400/11329901_10155538348320167_436070810865637144_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Recently the New York Post (our local Rupert Murdoch owned tabloid) ran a story about about the shark above ... transformed of course into a 'man-eater' headed to New York (Everybody panic! &nbsp;Think of the children!). &nbsp;The reality of course is that Great Whites are part of New York's ecosystem and have always been just off-shore (conspicuously not eating surfers and bathers for hundreds of years as it turns out). &nbsp;Maybe if we get to know them a little better we can start turning the PR around. &nbsp;Check out the <a href="http://www.ocearch.org/" target="_blank">Oceansearch Website</a>&nbsp;... we really need to help these incredible creatures with their image and build the number of people demanding better protection for shark species.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b_sFgbJuY4g/VWt52-uUQlI/AAAAAAAACMg/kry6Zj8RZ7w/s1600/maryleenow.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="285" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b_sFgbJuY4g/VWt52-uUQlI/AAAAAAAACMg/kry6Zj8RZ7w/s400/maryleenow.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Lee (she shark above) moves along the coast from Florida to Massachusetts</td></tr></tbody></table>I also saw a great story today featuring a Tiger Shark ... a BIG Tiger Shark. &nbsp;I sort-of conceptually know that they are 'out there' off the East Coast but have never seen one. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ihUcWmhdnjk/VWs4Au2e9yI/AAAAAAAACMQ/5WewbixF2tg/s1600/Massive-Shark-670-665x385.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ihUcWmhdnjk/VWs4Au2e9yI/AAAAAAAACMQ/5WewbixF2tg/s320/Massive-Shark-670-665x385.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This was a pretty big Tiger Shark captured and (mercifully) tagged off the Carolinas recently&nbsp;<a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/2128772/giant-tiger-shark-big-as-a-great-white-tagged-off-hilton-head-coast/" target="_blank">(See story here)</a>. &nbsp;No doubt we'll see this tagged shark cruise the beaches of the East Coast over the coming months and again, not eating our children.<br /><br />The website also has links to tagged Mako and Blue Sharks. &nbsp;Makos in particular being over-fished by "sport" fishermen (why does killing a shark seem to be a substitute for manhood for some sad people?).<br /><br />So check it out. &nbsp;The more people are aware, the better the chances of conserving out apex marine predators. &nbsp;Sharks in general could use a lot of PR help and this may be a start.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7127837 -74.00594130000001840.3275822 -74.651388300000022 41.097985200000004 -73.360494300000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-44525486108590055292015-05-16T15:32:00.000-04:002015-05-17T16:06:13.563-04:00New York SpringRandom birds for Spring Migration ....<br /><br />It's been a 'bitty' Spring with little time off but a few good days here and there. &nbsp;Slowly filling out the year list though and adding a few decent species here and there.<br /><br /><b>Saturday, May 3rd</b><br />Had a choice to make today - chase a (lifer) SMITH'S LONGSPUR in Connecticut or an ABA bird BAR-TAILED GODWIT in New Jersey. &nbsp;I chose wrong. &nbsp;Spent a pleasant few hours watching robins and song sparrows on a soccer field in Connecticut, but the Longspur was long gone. &nbsp;Running errands on Long Island later, I was at least able to add a couple of Blue Grosbeaks - small consolation but a good bird nevertheless.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T3_pM-e8u3s/VVeLCNlg2GI/AAAAAAAACKg/VgHbDma0bSs/s1600/IMG_6858.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="261" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T3_pM-e8u3s/VVeLCNlg2GI/AAAAAAAACKg/VgHbDma0bSs/s400/IMG_6858.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue Grosbeak - Robert Moses SP, Suffolk County, NY</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Sunday, May 10th</b><br />So after a birdless day in Central Park on Saturday I decided to go North and chase the warblers on their breeding grounds .... and I was very glad I did. &nbsp;Ended the day in Putnam, Orange, and Rockland Counties with 21 species of warblers including Golden-winged, Tennessee, Hooded, Cerulean and Kentucky Warblers. &nbsp;Hit Doodletown Road, Sterling Forest State Park and a side trip to Blue Chips Farm where I dipped Upland Sandpiper. &nbsp;In addition to the warblers I got a WOOD TURTLE a Box Turtle and some lizards. &nbsp; Very nice day out in the country.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xEInlVzQiTY/VVeU1s3D3RI/AAAAAAAACLY/YqVhabVb46k/s1600/IMG_0721.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xEInlVzQiTY/VVeU1s3D3RI/AAAAAAAACLY/YqVhabVb46k/s640/IMG_0721.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bear Mountain State Park</td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_M3bpaiifKQ/VVeLRfjxy3I/AAAAAAAACK4/oWY_oCcY20Y/s1600/IMG_6966.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_M3bpaiifKQ/VVeLRfjxy3I/AAAAAAAACK4/oWY_oCcY20Y/s320/IMG_6966.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Worm-eating Warbler (above) and Hooded Warbler (below)</td></tr></tbody></table>Doodletown Road is the most amazing place and I had a bizarrely interesting birding experience birding it today. &nbsp;As I started up the trail I ended up in synch with a Mennonite (?) family (my best guess based on the attire the women were wearing). &nbsp;One of the three teenagers in the group had serious birding skills and great ears and eyes. &nbsp;He was calling birds (correctly) left right and center - and where I could add or correct him, it was based on experience rather than skills. &nbsp;Clearly not someone connected to the birding community, but this kid had promise. Hope he gets to develop his talents.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-swfcD9bt-qg/VVeKvy7M8rI/AAAAAAAACKY/bz21WIqOvGI/s1600/IMG_6898.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-swfcD9bt-qg/VVeKvy7M8rI/AAAAAAAACKY/bz21WIqOvGI/s320/IMG_6898.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Once again though I managed to miss the best non birds seen that day. &nbsp;Others saw a TIMBER RATTLESNAKE (this is a great spot of them but I never see them) and a BLACK BEAR. &nbsp;One day I'll see the rattlesnakes - they are apparently always there but my timing always seems to be off. &nbsp;Will just have to keep going until I see one I guess.</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Tuesday, May 12th</b><br />Did a Long Island run with Nathan Remold, a visiting Cornell/Chicago birder. <br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oq7_gtNKIQA/VVeLFybNdBI/AAAAAAAACKo/NNhjVM5d9nw/s1600/IMG_7032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oq7_gtNKIQA/VVeLFybNdBI/AAAAAAAACKo/NNhjVM5d9nw/s320/IMG_7032.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black-billed Cuckoo - Jamaica Bay</td></tr></tbody></table>Started at Jamaica Bay where we got an incredible 84 species - lots of coastal birds and lots of migrants, including Orchard Oriole, both Cuckoos, Lincoln's Sparrow, etc. &nbsp;We also got some good costal birds and nice mix of Spring shorebirds.<br /><br />Later stops included Dune Road in Quogue where we got Nathan's LIFER Seaside and Saltmarsh Sparrows. &nbsp;Took me a few stops, but I was eventually able to deliver the local amadromus .....<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zIXqUyl8Rg0/VVeLX_0MJOI/AAAAAAAACLI/vD_RpBI14wI/s1600/IMG_7057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="409" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zIXqUyl8Rg0/VVeLX_0MJOI/AAAAAAAACLI/vD_RpBI14wI/s640/IMG_7057.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Solitary Sandpiper - Jamaica Bay</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7127837 -74.00594130000001840.3275822 -74.651388300000022 41.097985200000004 -73.360494300000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-9420357586642072822015-04-16T19:44:00.001-04:002015-04-16T19:44:13.802-04:00Crested Caracara in Orange County, New YorkAnother State bird chase, and not a dip (for once)<br /><br />After 6 days 'dipping' the Mew Gull in Brooklyn I was pretty much over the State listing thing. &nbsp;I'd had a good run over the Winter, adding Common Ground Dove, Cassin's and Couch's Kingbirds and Thick-billed Murre. &nbsp;Then I'd hit the wall with the Mew Gull and repeatedly failed to see it despite lots of effort and lots of hours. &nbsp;Maybe State listing wasn't something for me?<br /><br />Last Thursday though a CRESTED CARACARA was found in Orange County, and I watched with interest to see if it would stick. &nbsp;Caracaras in the NorthEast have been an interesting phenomenon recently. &nbsp;I chased and saw a bird&nbsp;<a href="http://welshbirder.blogspot.com/2012/09/crested-caracara-in-new-jersey.html" target="_blank">in New Jersey in 2012</a>&nbsp;and since then, individual Caracaras have shown up in various spots across the NorthEastern states, never staying long in one place, with the suspicion being that only one (or two) nomadic birds were involved, wandering around from place to place but never really hanging out long enough for birders to chase them. &nbsp;Within the last six months there were even two New York State records, both good, but both brief views - a sight record from upstate and a bird photographed by a non-birder in a yard on Long Island (!). &nbsp;Neither bird stayed around for others to see, but we all suspected that there was at least one bird 'in the area' and so when this bird showed up, many were curious to see if it would hang around long enough for people to chase it.<br /><br />As it turned out, this was the lucky break, the good bird if you like. &nbsp;This particular Caracara seemed to have found a couple of good carcasses (a deer and a possum - nothing beats a good stinky possum carcass if you're a caracara) and was still in the same area on Saturday (when unfortunately I couldn't go). &nbsp;On Sunday when I woke up, I checked the list-serves and it turned out that the bird was still on site ( a tribute to the quality of this particular partly-decomposed possum I suppose), &nbsp;so I decided to go, jumped in the car, and headed North.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QtCP9tduVuE/VTBEq7SvHiI/AAAAAAAACJI/rl3kUfVfspM/s1600/IMG_6749.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QtCP9tduVuE/VTBEq7SvHiI/AAAAAAAACJI/rl3kUfVfspM/s1600/IMG_6749.JPG" height="296" width="400" /></a></div><br />When I arrived at the site (a golf course in Orange County) the bird was perched back in the woods giving good scope views but no photographic opportunities.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jB3Hlr8rxjI/VTBFAZgkYeI/AAAAAAAACJQ/8HmGmJsOdPk/s1600/IMG_6775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jB3Hlr8rxjI/VTBFAZgkYeI/AAAAAAAACJQ/8HmGmJsOdPk/s1600/IMG_6775.JPG" height="288" width="400" /></a></div><br />Thirty minutes later, the bird too off, circled the area and came to check out the Possum carcass that it had previously been feeding on. &nbsp;It didn't land - perhaps there were too many birders there - but it did give good flight views.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZtI5TEaXPko/VTBFSCCFiuI/AAAAAAAACJY/idNKBVWtvSo/s1600/IMG_6822.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZtI5TEaXPko/VTBFSCCFiuI/AAAAAAAACJY/idNKBVWtvSo/s1600/IMG_6822.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div><br />Having had great views, I spent some time socializing with the assembled birders. &nbsp;The Caracara came out a few more times before finding a thermal, gaining a lot of altitude (think speck), and heading off to the North. &nbsp;It looked to me as though the bird had left, but apparently it came back later in the day, so it must have just been either chasing Turkey Vultures (looking of new carcass - that's what they do apparently) or heading to other feeding spot it already knew. &nbsp;Whatever it was doing though, it came back to the original site (and possum carcass) and has been there for several days since. &nbsp;A very accommodating bird allowing pretty much every serious New York State birder to add this species to their sate list.<br /><br />So overall a great experience - New York State bird #382 - plus a pleasant Spring day outdoors. &nbsp;Maybe this State Listing thing isn't so bad after all.Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7127837 -74.00594130000001840.3275822 -74.651388300000022 41.097985200000004 -73.360494300000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-31431342015132486132015-03-22T18:27:00.000-04:002015-03-23T18:51:48.235-04:00Suckers and Fish ListingSome interesting blog posts and a shout out for a conservation issue ....<br /><br />Going a little off the bird topic and on to my other favorite group of vertebrates, fish. &nbsp;I am a fisherman, mostly a fly-fisherman, although I grew up in the UK fishing all three disciplines. &nbsp;We went GAME FISHING for Salmon and Trout with fly-rods (and sometimes spin tackle), sat for endless hours COURSE FISHING for carp and pike, and spent many cold Winter days SEA FISHING either by surf-casting or by fishing from piers. &nbsp;Fishing was very much a core of my childhood outdoor life and, while it was ultimately surpassed by birding in terms of time and attention, I still occasionally pick up a fly-rod and have cast them into waters as far flung as Alaska, Quebec, Argentina and Japan over the years. &nbsp;I am also completely fascinated by the diversity of fish, which in may ways is the same fascination I have for the diversity of birds. &nbsp;Fish are just harder to go and watch.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t8hBKWOOrQg/VQ76TIRhCRI/AAAAAAAACHo/1errw6XLvFw/s1600/buffalo_smallmout_head_wisconsin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t8hBKWOOrQg/VQ76TIRhCRI/AAAAAAAACHo/1errw6XLvFw/s1600/buffalo_smallmout_head_wisconsin.jpg" height="263" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smallmouth Buffalo - Photo by Ben Cantrell - the image that started me off<br />on a fish theme this morning.</td></tr></tbody></table>Laying in bed this morning and skimming Facebook I came across a great article by Matt Miller on Suckers over at&nbsp;<a href="http://blog.nature.org/science/2015/03/02/a-sucker-myth-is-born-every-minute/" target="_blank">The Nature Conservancy Blog</a>. &nbsp;A cruelly misunderstood and unfairly maligned group on native fish, that I've seen but never caught, led me to an interesting couple of hours of immersion in a whole other sphere on natural history. &nbsp;&nbsp;I figured I'd share some of what I learned, and also give a shout out to some of the folks doing great conservation work in this area (on the theory that any publicity for a good cause helps)<br /><br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WnVuza_5up0/VQ76UhZy4EI/AAAAAAAACHw/3UrtBQRkc1c/s1600/hogsucker_ben_wisconsin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WnVuza_5up0/VQ76UhZy4EI/AAAAAAAACHw/3UrtBQRkc1c/s1600/hogsucker_ben_wisconsin.jpg" height="234" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben Cantrell - a leader in the Rough Fishing movement</td></tr></tbody></table>Suckers it would seem are a very oppressed group on native fish, often killed on site by anglers who wrongfully think that they are invasive, and damaging to fisheries. &nbsp;In a world where trout and bass rule US fishing (and dominate what has become a very commercial sport), these natives are unfairly seen as 'competition' for the 'more desirable species' and persecuted to the point that species are struggling to survive.<br /><br />This article led me to a whole other world of folks who actively fish for these species, a world called Rough Fishing (cousin of the UK's Course Fishing?) and to some fascinating stories from that sub-culture.<br /><br />One of the best blogs I found was&nbsp;<a href="http://bencantrellfish.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Ben Cantrell's Fish Species Blog</a>&nbsp;which details adventures with fish that aren't all Bass and Trout. &nbsp;One of the best articles, and a revelation to me, was a post on "<a href="http://bencantrellfish.blogspot.com/2015/02/tennessee-winter-microfishing.html" target="_blank">Microfishing</a>" where folks go out and pursue species usually considered too small to have any sporting interest. &nbsp;The name of the game isn't a macho battle against a giant fish but rather a celebration of the diversity of fish species. &nbsp;Now they really had my attention, as for years I'd keep a list of species of fish I'd caught with a fly-rod but had always been too self conscious to go deliberately target tiny fish just to add to my list. &nbsp;But other people do! <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ieFQU62kOwg/VQ7965iT9BI/AAAAAAAACH8/Tawh0bNums4/s1600/p.txt.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ieFQU62kOwg/VQ7965iT9BI/AAAAAAAACH8/Tawh0bNums4/s1600/p.txt.jpeg" height="380" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Redband Darter: Photo by Ben Cantrell (hoping he doesn't mind the shout out)</td></tr></tbody></table>These Rough Fishermen, are having fun, actively engaged in conservation, raising awareness, and keeping lists. &nbsp;It's really like birding with rod and line and of course, where there are lists, there are people who take it to the next level and get seriously competitive. &nbsp;Just like in birding someone is going to take that competition to the extreme, which in this case is a guy called Steve Wozniak who writes a blog called&nbsp;<a href="https://1000fish.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">1000Fish</a>&nbsp;detailing his attempt to catch 1,000 species f fish on rod-and line.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vIr7qnLx3ck/VQ7__R97GkI/AAAAAAAACII/rJAky5E4a8c/s1600/minister-silver-short.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vIr7qnLx3ck/VQ7__R97GkI/AAAAAAAACII/rJAky5E4a8c/s1600/minister-silver-short.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steve Wozniak (and friend) with a Silver Buffalo</td></tr></tbody></table>(Spoiler Alert: it took him 10+ years and 60+ countries but he did catch 1,000 species, and is now over 1,200 - the Tom Gullick of the fishing world).<br /><br />After reading about his exploits for hours I was itching to go and catch fish and to re-start my fishing life list (would eBird include fish do you think?). &nbsp;I also had an urge to share - fish conservation is unglamorous and all the money and attention gets sucked up by the 'sport' fish leaving a lot of great native species struggling for attention. &nbsp;Read some of the blogs. &nbsp;There are good people doing important work out there.<br /><br /><br /><br />Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7127837 -74.00594130000001840.3275822 -74.651388300000022 41.097985200000004 -73.360494300000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-45598373288494969512015-03-22T13:08:00.000-04:002015-03-22T18:20:56.455-04:00Late March Cabin FeverJust itching for Spring .... and recovering from Gull-issues<br /><br />I keep meaning to do a blog post, truly I do, it's just that I haven't really had much to blog about nature-wise so far this year. &nbsp;To date 2015 has been dominated by work (yes, I do work) and snow, and neither of those things has really been very conducive to looking at nature or nature blogging. &nbsp;Even my travel - Montreal, London, Wales, Washington DC) has not really been very outdoor oriented so far, and I just haven't seen a lot of stuff worth reporting.<br /><br />This week, it snowed again, but at least there's something about a late March snow storm that makes you feel like the worst may now be over and that Winter might be finally behind us. &nbsp;For whatever reason, I was really feeling the cabin fever today, a sure sign that Spring is coming and that my nature addiction is close to kicking back in again after a dormant Winter. &nbsp;Looking forward to putting Winter away and getting out there once again.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"></div>&nbsp;The 2015 birding year actually started out relatively well for me and I managed to grab some free time and get out a few times locally in the first few weeks of the year. &nbsp;Some good birds quickly joined the list - Couch's Kingbird in the West Village, Cassin's Kingbird in Brooklyn, Harlequin Ducks at Montauk, a drake King Eider and Iceland Gulls at Shinecock, Tundra Swans in East Hampton, and a Cackling Goose near Riverhead. &nbsp;I even managed to get a State Bird when I chased down a THICK-BILLED MURRE in Montauk Harbor (NYS #381).<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vBV5CXQlxMM/VQ7n4IXPQLI/AAAAAAAACHI/JaJRroGSDAE/s1600/IMG_6593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vBV5CXQlxMM/VQ7n4IXPQLI/AAAAAAAACHI/JaJRroGSDAE/s1600/IMG_6593.JPG" height="206" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thick-billed Murre - lousy shot but it was a state bird!</td></tr></tbody></table>I soon started to get that slipping feeling though. &nbsp;Others were going out birding more, and finding great birds, and I simply wasn't keeping up, not with the time I had available to me to get out into the field. &nbsp;For a brief while I fought the rot, chased the Pink-footed Goose (dipped) near Riverhead, the Barnacle Geese (dipped) near Calverton, and the GYRFALCON (yes!) near Wallkill, but eventually I had to recognize that this is just not going to be a big year list year for me in New York. <br />As of today, I've seen only 110 species this year in New York State, while the more serious guys are already in the 160s. &nbsp;I've missed way too many Winter birds to be able to catch up - no Snowy Owls, no Glaucous Gulls, &nbsp;no Barrow's Goldeneye, etc. &nbsp;I'll just have to enjoy what I see and not worry about year-lisiting this year.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OhKPPWuBCoY/VQ7nmbC1-gI/AAAAAAAACGw/E0RGtJY450g/s1600/IMG_6492.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OhKPPWuBCoY/VQ7nmbC1-gI/AAAAAAAACGw/E0RGtJY450g/s1600/IMG_6492.JPG" height="245" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harequin Ducks (above) and Common Redpoll (below) good January birds<br />out on the East End this year.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--YrIsuh9tl0/VQ7noSllBHI/AAAAAAAACG4/D75rMZT5ZRg/s1600/IMG_6580.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--YrIsuh9tl0/VQ7noSllBHI/AAAAAAAACG4/D75rMZT5ZRg/s1600/IMG_6580.JPG" height="291" width="400" /></a></div><br />The bird that really killed my year-list this year was actually a gull. &nbsp;A Common Gull no less! &nbsp;Well technically a Mew Gull (although that's currently the same species as Common Gull), and actually not at all common here, thousands of miles away from the Pacific NorthWest where it makes it's home. &nbsp;The bird was found by Shane Blodgett and showed up, as rare gulls are prone to doing, in a shopping mall parking lot in Brooklyn. &nbsp;Many birders got to see it the first week or so it was there (while I wasn't able to travel) and then it fell into an infuriating pattern of vanishing for days or weeks before suddenly and unexpectedly popping up again in the same area. &nbsp;I really wanted to see this bird which would have been a new species for New York State for me, and it also happens to be a species I've tried for and missed previously. &nbsp;So I decided to devote a few hours to a search......<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yfd36lXZEQc/VQ7tOQVU5BI/AAAAAAAACHY/OZDoA6d8GQ0/s1600/B8yj7E4IEAMrOb8.jpg-large.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yfd36lXZEQc/VQ7tOQVU5BI/AAAAAAAACHY/OZDoA6d8GQ0/s1600/B8yj7E4IEAMrOb8.jpg-large.jpeg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Herring Gull, MEW GULL, and Ring-billed Gull - photo: Shane Blodgett (used with permission)</td></tr></tbody></table>And so I ended up spending the better part of five (5!) days standing, freezing, in parking lots in Brooklyn (and not the trendy bits of Brooklyn), looking at gulls. &nbsp;Every couple of hours a little old Russian lady might come by, empty a bag of stale bread, and start a mad swirl of activity as hundreds of gulls, dozens of Rock Pigeons, and even a few Brown Rats squabbled over the feast, but most of the time Mew Gull 'watching' involved just standing around in the cold, periodically checking hundreds of Ring-billed gulls to see if 'the bird' had flown in. &nbsp;After each session I swore I would give up on this gull and go look for other things, and then a few days later someone would see the damned bird, and I'd give it one more try. &nbsp;In total, this single bird took more than 50% of the free time I had for birding in the first quarter of 2015. &nbsp;And no ... I did not see the bird.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a0_2ZhUsbHc/VQ7nqPOJrtI/AAAAAAAACHA/anB4ZNpeKe8/s1600/IMG_6689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a0_2ZhUsbHc/VQ7nqPOJrtI/AAAAAAAACHA/anB4ZNpeKe8/s1600/IMG_6689.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Iceland Gull - people often reported seeing the Mew Gull with<br />this Iceland Gull. &nbsp;It was stubbornly solo while I was there though</td></tr></tbody></table>And so, as we roll in to Spring I'm ready to put the Mew Gull behind me and move on. I almost gave it one last try this Saturday after a sighting was reported on Friday. &nbsp;In the end I was saved my Shane though, he emailed me to say that he'd seen photos of the Friday sighting and that the bird was just a dark Ring-billed Gull. &nbsp;Even though I'd already sworn that I wouldn't try again, Shane new that I probably would (and he was right - I am that stubborn). &nbsp;But now I'm letting it go, and moving on, and getting excited for Spring.<br /><br /><br />Postscript: &nbsp;I finished writing this blog post, went out to brunch with Kelvin and had a mimosa or two(enough to ensure that I could no longer drive for the day). &nbsp;After brunch I checked my emails and, total predictably, Andrew Baksh posted that he and Angus Wilson had been watching the Mew Gull in Brooklyn for the past couple of hours. &nbsp;After a week or so absence, the bird had literally reappeared while I was writing this post. &nbsp;I give up ....<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7127837 -74.00594130000001840.3275822 -74.651388300000022 41.097985200000004 -73.360494300000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-54693123507427046602014-12-26T14:34:00.000-05:002015-01-01T15:57:47.473-05:00Yet another Rare Kingbird in New York CityCouch's Kingbird in Greenwich Village ...<br /><br />I had a hangover this morning. &nbsp;I think one is probably supposed to have a hangover the day after Christmas so I really hadn't planned to do very much today. &nbsp; We woke up late and while we had breakfast I flicked through the posts and emails that had come in over night. &nbsp;I saw that the Cassin's Kingbird was still being seen in Brooklyn, skipped over some other kingbird related titles, then stopped dead and did a re-wind. &nbsp;One of the kingbird titles didn't say Cassin's at all but actually said Couch's/Tropical Kingbird in the West Village! &nbsp;Well that was a surprise ....<br /><br />The bird had apparently been first seen over six weeks ago and the finder, wondering if it might be a Western Kingbird, had reached out to more experienced birders for help. &nbsp;They'd suggested he get a photo, thinking no doubt that a kingbird of any sort was pretty unlikely in the center of the heavily urban West Village. &nbsp;Yesterday he did finally manage to get a photograph and forwarded it along to his birder friends - not a Western Kingbird, but something much better (although tough to ID from a photo). &nbsp;So the word got out last night, and this morning New York's birding mob assembled on Washington Street in the Village eager for yet more kingbird action.<br /><br />Before I could go birding I had to run some errands and drive over to Williamsburg to drop off Kelvin. &nbsp;On the way we actually passed within a block of the bird's location but I resisted the urge to try to sneak in a quick stop and planned to retrace my steps a little later. &nbsp;While I was in Brooklyn I got to check the list serves again though and learned that the bird had been re-found by Jacob Drucker, Doug Gochfeld, et al and definitely identified as a COUCH'S KINGBIRD - the first record for New York State and one of only a handful of records for this South Texas specialty anywhere in the NorthEast. &nbsp;By 11:00am, chores done and I was free to come back and look for the bird so I came back to Manhattan, headed to the Village, found the gaggle of birders (bird clearly not in sight), parked the car, and took my place in the stakeout line with half the serious NYC and Long Island birders already on site.<br /><br />I didn't have to wait long, and about ten minutes later, while I was chatting with Andrew Baksh, the bird flew over the building behind us and landed a strip of trees in front of an apartment building. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tXz5Kc_XCf4/VJ2zIuyrNFI/AAAAAAAACEk/eYdY8VN_b6Q/s1600/10271499_10152944655738713_4409966341165095380_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tXz5Kc_XCf4/VJ2zIuyrNFI/AAAAAAAACEk/eYdY8VN_b6Q/s1600/10271499_10152944655738713_4409966341165095380_n.jpg" height="624" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Couch's Kingbird, West Village, New York County, NY (December 2014)<br />Photo: Seth Wollney (used with permission)</td></tr></tbody></table>The bird seemed to be in great health and seemed to have no problem finding things to eat. &nbsp;Earlier in the morning it had apparently been seen collecting bluebottle flies from the apartment building terraces, but it also hawked and caught several insects on the wing while I watched it.<br /><br />The presence of 40 or 50 strange people with binoculars, telescopes and giant camera lenses also drew more than a little interest from the locals, many of who stopped by to see the rare bird from Texas that was inexplicably hanging out on their city block. &nbsp;It was also quite fun to see the different reactions from people - the people who were fascinated by the rare bird versus the people who were quiet disappointed that we weren't watching some celebrity or other. &nbsp;The bird also made the press with several blogs <a href="http://worldofwonder.net/shootingthebird-couchs-kingbird-west-village-aflutter/" target="_blank">(like this one, which seems trendy)</a>&nbsp;and even the&nbsp;<a href="http://nypost.com/2014/12/29/couchs-kingbird-spotted-for-first-time-in-new-york/" target="_blank">New York Post (our own Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid)</a>&nbsp;giving it a mention.<br /><br />So as of now, we have two super-rare Kingbirds in New York City - one a state second record, and this one a state first. &nbsp;Wonder what will show up next?<br /><br /><b>Update 1/1/2015:</b> both Kingbirds are (amazingly) still hanging on in New York. &nbsp;Spend the morning looking for the Cassin's Kingbird in Brooklyn with no luck. &nbsp;Again though, when I left to get lunch, the bird showed up at it's habitual spot (this time found by Rick Cech) and I was able to circle back and get it. &nbsp;Perhaps it doesn't come to the garden until it gets warmer, but even then, I think the bird is looking weak, with drooping wings, not sure it'll make it much longer.<br /><br />With the Cassin's under my belt, I decided to try for the Couch's and headed back to Manhattan. &nbsp;Once I'd got there and found parking spot, I checked the list serves and saw that the bird was being seen at West 11th Street and West 4th, quite a way from the original spot, and where I'd parked. &nbsp;I schlepped over there, all the way passing birders who had seen the birds and said that it had already left the area and flown to a private (and non-viewable) garden area. &nbsp;Still, I pushed on, and arrived at the previous location, settled in for a wait, and after only a couple of minutes the bird flew back and started hunting from the trees and fire-escapes on nearby buildings.<br /><br />While the Cassin's looked, well hungry, and I didn't see it eat this morning, the Couch's is clearly still finding food to eat. &nbsp;It seemed to be picking insects (bluebottles?) off the white walls of the brownstone buildings at the intersection and seemed to be feeding successfully the whole time I watched. &nbsp;I'm not optimistic for the Cassin's but I'm hopeful that the Couch's may make it through the Winter.<br /><br /><br />Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com1New York, NY, USA40.7127837 -74.00594130000001840.3275957 -74.651388300000022 41.0979717 -73.360494300000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-36169800096392488692014-11-22T18:34:00.000-05:002014-11-23T07:35:31.656-05:00Sometimes You Get Second Chances .... Cassin's Kingbird in BrooklynA blunder then redemption ....<br /><br />Got a late start today but when I finally got moving I decided to get off Manhattan and do some Brooklyn birding. &nbsp;I headed over to Floyd Bennet Field (a disused WWII air base, now mostly wild space) not with any particular goal in mind but there had been a Cassin's Kingbird seen briefly at that spot last week and it seemed as good a place as any to look for late Fall migrants. &nbsp;The Kingbird was a well documented single observer bird and only the second ever seen in New York State. &nbsp;Many birders had searched extensively the next day and failed to relocate it, and with no sightings all week it was a pretty safe bet that the bird was long gone. &nbsp;Rarities aside though, I had a good feeling about Floyd Bennet and figured I might find something interesting lurking in the grass and scrub around the disused runways and hangers.<br /><br />Today started out well with a quick check through the Horned Lark flock on the Cricket Field actually producing a Lapland Longspur. &nbsp;I always look for them here, but I never find them, so my luck was clearly in today.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TOz44t3dkgc/VHEX4O07B4I/AAAAAAAACC8/yXNdXH6bJ8U/s1600/IMG_6387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TOz44t3dkgc/VHEX4O07B4I/AAAAAAAACC8/yXNdXH6bJ8U/s1600/IMG_6387.JPG" height="245" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bad photo of a Lapland Longspur with Horned Larks but it's the only one <br />I got before the birds flushed (they came back but I didn't want to bug<br />them too much)</td></tr></tbody></table>There were plenty of other birds to see too - some Red Fox Sparrows mixed with Field Sparrows, a flock of Eastern Bluebirds, lots of Myrtle Warblers and a good mix of raptors. &nbsp;I got into 'the zone' and started having a really fun time working through the grasses and scrub just counting sparrows. &nbsp;As I worked the area behind the communal gardens though, I saw a bird that stopped me in my tracks. &nbsp;I got just the quickest glimpse of the bird flying away from me, but the subliminal impression it left was a "Western-type" Kingbird. &nbsp;I saw only the back but the wing and tail shape fit really well - I turned around and spent the next 30 minutes trying to get another look at the bird.<br /><br />Now while I was busy looking for the bird, my brain was working overtime. &nbsp;Was it a Kingbird? &nbsp;Was it the Cassin's Kingbird? &nbsp;That seemed really unlikely given that it had been searched for unsuccessfully all week - so perhaps my mind was playing tricks on me. &nbsp;Wishful thinking? &nbsp;I was practically muttering to myself after a half and hour and had pretty much convinced myself that I'd hallucinated. &nbsp; Fearing for my mental health I decided to take a break and drove out of the park to get some lunch. &nbsp;Not 20 minutes later the phone rang. &nbsp;Andrew Baksh was on the line. &nbsp;"Are you still at Floyd Bennet? &nbsp;The Cassin's Kingbird is still here. &nbsp;It's in the area behind the communal gardens". &nbsp;Perhaps I should consider another hobby ....<br /><br />So humble pie for lunch and back to the gardens to look for the bird again, this time with lots of company as 30 or 40 birders had quickly joined the hunt. &nbsp;When I got back the news wasn't good. &nbsp;The bird had flown off to the East, survived an attempted attack by a Sharp-shinned Hawk, and vanished behind some pines lost to sight for 20 minutes or so by the time I got there. &nbsp;With so many people looking though it was only a matter of time before it was re-found and sure enough it popped up a half hour later right back where I'd seen it in the morning. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lNoX3wMVe_s/VHEap89mn3I/AAAAAAAACDI/FX9l97vNRLI/s1600/IMG_6480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lNoX3wMVe_s/VHEap89mn3I/AAAAAAAACDI/FX9l97vNRLI/s1600/IMG_6480.JPG" height="419" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cassin's Kingbird (2 shots)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vgf_1IlRXR4/VHEarsZZNBI/AAAAAAAACDQ/Um2rDorafco/s1600/IMG_6437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vgf_1IlRXR4/VHEarsZZNBI/AAAAAAAACDQ/Um2rDorafco/s1600/IMG_6437.JPG" height="408" width="640" /></a></div><br />This bird was a second state record for New York State and a State Bird for me (I'd been close to the first record in Montauk - I was on a fishing boat just off-shore when it was found, but by the time I got back to land the bird had vanished). &nbsp;My second State Bird in two weeks ....Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7127837 -74.00594130000001840.3275957 -74.651388300000022 41.0979717 -73.360494300000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-3068226362420134322014-11-16T15:53:00.000-05:002014-11-20T17:42:19.009-05:00The Invincible Common Ground-Dove of Jones BeachVagrants and the return of early Winter birds on Long Island<br /><br />So this weekend was a good weekend for vagrants on Long Island, but not really a good weekend for vagrants sticking around to be seen by birders. &nbsp;Two separate White-winged Doves were found at either end of the Island but neither remained in place long enough for others to see. &nbsp;Not that many birders would have chased them in any case as just about every birder on Long Island was out trying to re-find a Cassin's Kingbird (2nd state record) that one lucky observer saw and photographed on Saturday in Brooklyn. &nbsp;Sometimes the birds just don't cooperate ....<br /><br />I really wasn't too concerned about the rarities this weekend; I'd decided to go out to East Hampton on Friday and had plans to do some local birding and some gardening (last chance for bulbs!). &nbsp;My original plans would have had me stay 'East of the Canal' all weekend, birding in Montauk and the Hamptons, but a peculiar individual bird got in my head and persuaded me to change my plans....<br /><br />About 2 weeks ago someone found a Common Ground-Dove at the Coastguard Station at Jones Beach State Park in Nassau County. &nbsp;As a second New York state record the word was put out quickly and birders rushed over to the park to see it - only to be ordered away from the station by a Coast Guard 'Trainee' who clearly though a group of middle-aged folk with binoculars were a terrible threat to the base and national security, perhaps an advance guard for the Islamic State's planned invasion of suburban Long Island? &nbsp;Undeterred, birders came back the next day and dodged the Coast Guard patrols only to see the dove get taken and carried off by a Merlin ... game over. &nbsp;It seemed that I was not fated to add this species to my state list (I'd missed the previous record 4 years ago).<br /><br />Or perhaps not. &nbsp;Fast forward a week and 'another' Common Ground-Dove was found a couple of hundred yards away; this one missing a tail. &nbsp;Could the original bird have survived a Merlin attack? &nbsp;Looks like this was one tough dove and I wondered if it might stick around, braving the cold and the density of migrating raptors at Jones Beach. &nbsp;Each day brought a new report of the bird still being seen so on Saturday morning I gave in to the pressure and ran back West to Jones Beach to see if I could find this dove.<br /><br />Turns out the bird was easy to see - as I pulled into the parking lot I noticed a small lump out in the open and sure enough, it was a Ground-Dove feeding in the weeds that grow in the cracks between the concrete slabs in the lot. &nbsp;I pulled up the car and took some photos then parked and started to walk back only to see the bird flushed by a birder who clearly hadn't seen it before it took off. &nbsp;So, with the bird out of view, I decided to call it a success and head back to my original plan of birding in the Hamptons.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tGFqVYju_3k/VGkJsU4A0vI/AAAAAAAACCI/RQcCdncETtI/s1600/IMG_6355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tGFqVYju_3k/VGkJsU4A0vI/AAAAAAAACCI/RQcCdncETtI/s1600/IMG_6355.JPG" height="246" width="400" /></a><br />Common Ground Dove (2 Shots)</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qx8iiZLYp4Y/VGkJuVje8fI/AAAAAAAACCQ/708kqrmm7gw/s1600/IMG_6360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qx8iiZLYp4Y/VGkJuVje8fI/AAAAAAAACCQ/708kqrmm7gw/s1600/IMG_6360.JPG" height="356" width="640" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />So back to the Hamptons where I hit a bunch of local spots on Saturday morning and did the standard Montauk circuit on Sunday morning. &nbsp;There were a few of the Winter birds back in the area - American Tree Sparrows at Napeague and Snow Buntings at Mecox but most of the Winter goodies that people come out to the East End for just weren't back in place yet.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LQi9c74HOj8/VGkKr0gIS4I/AAAAAAAACCc/PzJkQ-MFwaA/s1600/IMG_6377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LQi9c74HOj8/VGkKr0gIS4I/AAAAAAAACCc/PzJkQ-MFwaA/s1600/IMG_6377.JPG" height="272" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's a lot of white under a Snow Bunting ... &nbsp;(at Mecox Inlet)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;">A sea-watch did produce a lot of Common Loons, 3 Scoter species, Greater Scaup and Common Eiders but no Alcids yet. &nbsp;Time on the gulls flocks turned up the usual species and even a few lingering Laughing Gulls but none of the good Winter gulls that should show up soon. &nbsp;Even Larry the super-regular Lesser Black-backed Gull that Winters in Napeague hadn't made his way back to his regular beach yet. &nbsp;Just a few weeks early I guess but I did see some good things and felt like I was getting back into the swing of birding the local spots.</div><br />Perhaps the best things I saw on Sunday were actually mammals. &nbsp;Two Gray Seals put on quite a show fishing close to shore at Montauk Point - I forget how big these guys are (we only have Harbor seals to look at all Summer) and am always shocked when one pops up in the scope at close range. &nbsp;I also got to spend some quality time with a couple of very tame Red Foxes who I came very close to at Teddy Roosevelt County Park. &nbsp;These guys were very relaxed in my presence and sat calmly as I walked by less than 50 feet away - so relaxed in fact that I wondered if I was about to have to fend rabid foxes off with my tripod. &nbsp;Luckily they let me pass safely and rabies-free.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z1SYJkg9wyo/VGkNsTb4_AI/AAAAAAAACCo/mT_4PgEJ-S8/s1600/IMG_6378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z1SYJkg9wyo/VGkNsTb4_AI/AAAAAAAACCo/mT_4PgEJ-S8/s1600/IMG_6378.JPG" height="470" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of two Red Foxes in Montauk - one day I'll see one of Montauk's mythical Gray Foxes ...</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7127837 -74.00594130000001840.3275957 -74.651388300000022 41.0979717 -73.360494300000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-57590605102235168632014-10-04T13:22:00.001-04:002014-10-23T20:12:14.334-04:00Northern Wheatear in New York CityBrooklyn in the rain for a New York City bird ...<br /><br />After a super busy week I was really ready for some outdoor time on Saturday. &nbsp;I didn't get round to checking the weather though so when I finally did I was just a bit disappointed to see that the forecast for New York was basically ... well torrential rain all day. &nbsp;Still, being Welsh (I essentially grew up in a place where light rain is a Summer's Day and a nice break from the typical weather - i.e. heavy rain) I figured I'd go out anyway so headed over to Brooklyn to look for a Northern Wheatear that Shane Blodgett had found earlier in the week. <br /><br />Shane may well be the ultimate patch birder; he flogs the Brooklyn shore spots and consistently finds rarities. &nbsp; Skills +&nbsp;persistence = results. &nbsp;The bird had been seen on-and-off during the week with many folks dipping and assuming that the bird had left. &nbsp;Still, last night there was another report, and then this morning Rob Jett reported that the bird was still present, so off I went, sloshing through the rain on the BQE to the Plumb Beach parking lot.<br /><br />When I got there I quickly found a mob of birders standing around in the light drizzle but heard that the bird hadn't been seen in a while. So we set up for a stake out and waited for the bird to reappear, which it duly did when Dave Klauber spotted it flying towards a railroad sleeper in the marsh not 30 minutes later. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t99PLxarf-E/VDAlRdkF30I/AAAAAAAACA8/bzXpdCOskPc/s1600/IMG_6275.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t99PLxarf-E/VDAlRdkF30I/AAAAAAAACA8/bzXpdCOskPc/s1600/IMG_6275.JPG" height="272" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;Wheatears seem to like something to perch up on, but in the marsh there weren't a lot of places to sit on - just a couple of driftwood logs, including this railroad sleeper. &nbsp;The wheatear (or 'wet' ear) worked around the giant log, jumped up on it a few times, and kept coming back to it as a hunting perch.<br /><br />This particular bird had been around all week and several folks have asked about it's age and sex. &nbsp;Turns out that's not easy to determine.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XMtMre8LL88/VDAlS5kHNYI/AAAAAAAACBE/RR05wGwgRNA/s1600/IMG_6311.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XMtMre8LL88/VDAlS5kHNYI/AAAAAAAACBE/RR05wGwgRNA/s1600/IMG_6311.JPG" height="271" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;Here's Angus Wilson's take on an earlier New York Wheatear (<a href="http://www.oceanwanderers.com/NYWhtear.html" target="_blank">opinion of a local expert birder</a>&nbsp;) and this stuff is way beyond my pay grade.<br /><br />Several other local bird bloggers also got better shots (without torrential rain). &nbsp;Here's the blog from&nbsp;<a href="http://10000birds.com/?s=wheatear" target="_blank">Corey Finger</a>&nbsp;for example.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6Ihr-u2wnKg/VDAlUl1D35I/AAAAAAAACBM/z4IDjt_pK1s/s1600/IMG_6323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6Ihr-u2wnKg/VDAlUl1D35I/AAAAAAAACBM/z4IDjt_pK1s/s1600/IMG_6323.JPG" height="401" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kT4CPD4dN8E/VDAlV4JK-1I/AAAAAAAACBU/vUXzluWQn-U/s1600/IMG_6333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kT4CPD4dN8E/VDAlV4JK-1I/AAAAAAAACBU/vUXzluWQn-U/s1600/IMG_6333.JPG" height="251" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;This was my 4th Northern Wheatear of 2014 (the others all being in Newfoundland) but only my second ever in New York State and my first for New York City! <br /><br />I do have a soft spot for this species. &nbsp;As a kid in Wales, Wheatears were the first real migrant of Spring (absent the odd Bank Swallow or Sand Martin as we called them) and were eagerly anticipated. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PNXyemZ9jUg/VDAlW7SzeoI/AAAAAAAACBc/kharwYn9zxk/s1600/IMG_6335.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PNXyemZ9jUg/VDAlW7SzeoI/AAAAAAAACBc/kharwYn9zxk/s1600/IMG_6335.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></div><br />The Wheatears showed up on the coast in late March and were the heralds of the Spring migration to come. &nbsp;We used to comb through the flocks of Wheatears (often in the cold with driving rain - some things don't change) looking for Ring Ouzels and trying to separate the Greenland Wheatears for the "Common" Wheatears. &nbsp;Seeing one always takes me back to my childhood in Wales. &nbsp;The rain today just added to the authenticity of the experience.<br /><br />And rain it did. &nbsp;While we were watching the bird the heavens opened and light rain was replaced by a torrential downpour (I mean real Ark-building weather) soaking everyone foolish enough to be standing out on a beach looking for birds. &nbsp;I was completely soaked through, wet jeans, wet wallet, and a wet phone (which promptly died when I got back to the car, and never recovered). &nbsp;So I see an iPhone 6 in my future ...Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com1New York, NY, USA40.7127837 -74.00594130000001840.3275957 -74.651388300000022 41.0979717 -73.360494300000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-38995982229221326662014-09-14T19:34:00.000-04:002014-09-20T14:55:18.663-04:00Whiskered Tern in Cape May, New JerseyA quick twitch for another European vagrant. &nbsp;A tale of three twitches.<br /><br />Twitch #1: In 1985 I was a rabid teenage birder simply itching to see new species. &nbsp;With no car, and no birders in the family, my options were limited but desperate to see new things I decided to start hitch-hiking to chase rarities in the UK. &nbsp;One of the first twitches was to chase a WHISKERED TERN that had shown up in Devon. &nbsp;Three rides, three hours, and I got the bird! &nbsp;So easy (although I did meet some "interesting" people on the way). &nbsp;I thought the trip a great success and many similar trips were to follow in the coming years.<br /><br />Twitch #2: Fast forward 8 years to 1993 and I was living in New York when a Whiskered Tern showed up at Cape May, and was later re-found in the Bombay Hook area of Delaware. &nbsp;By that point I'd seen the species in several countries (and have since seen it in several more) but, this being an ABA bird, Philip Dempsey and I drove down to try to see it. &nbsp;We dipped....<br /><br />Twitch #3: Fast forward another 21 years and on Friday I heard that Louise Zemaitis had found another Whiskered Tern in Cape May, NJ. &nbsp;I woke up on Saturday morning to a barrage of photos of the bird on Facebook - it seemed to be sticking, so perhaps I should try again? &nbsp;Some quick texts to old birding buddies Philip Dempsey and Michael Duffy and come Sunday morning we were on our way at 6am with a 3+ hour drive ahead of us.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7UT-FjQJ8e4/VB3MCDquzNI/AAAAAAAACAE/3QH_N-LClcI/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7UT-FjQJ8e4/VB3MCDquzNI/AAAAAAAACAE/3QH_N-LClcI/s1600/unnamed.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cape May Lighthouse (photo: Michael Duffy)</td></tr></tbody></table>On the way down we were a little troubled at the lack of reports and the puzzling silence on Facebook. &nbsp;Had the bird left?<br /><br />Stopping for coffee somewhere in central Jersey we all anxiously checked our phones and (to our great relief) got word that the bird was still being seen. &nbsp;When we got to Cape May at 9:15am the news wasn't great though; the bird had been seen a couple of times early in the morning but hadn't been seen for some time. &nbsp;We'd come all this way though so we settled in to watch and an hour later the word got out that the bird had reappeared on the beach in the tern/gull roost.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z_5HWde_oRU/VBYid5iotpI/AAAAAAAAB_Q/NlBKtcgAqmA/s1600/IMG_6110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z_5HWde_oRU/VBYid5iotpI/AAAAAAAAB_Q/NlBKtcgAqmA/s1600/IMG_6110.JPG" height="206" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whiskered Tern - dead center in this long-distance record shot.</td></tr></tbody></table>Mission accomplished - although too far away to get decent shots. &nbsp;So after watching the bird until it wandered off, we decided to do the same and hit some local birding spots. &nbsp;Heading back to the beach an hour or so later we again got distant views of the bird and watched it until it picked up and flew over to feed at Bunker Pond. &nbsp;While I never did get more than record shots we did get to watch the bird for 20 minutes as it fed over the fresh water. &nbsp;An interesting feeding style, swirling over the pond then dropping to grab damselflies (?) on the water surface. &nbsp;Nice views, great bird. &nbsp;Only the 3rd record for the ABA ever. &nbsp;Very glad we came.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a1pNPYl1LTo/VBYj2pgPsfI/AAAAAAAAB_Y/LWWrgWsdXcw/s1600/IMG_6221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a1pNPYl1LTo/VBYj2pgPsfI/AAAAAAAAB_Y/LWWrgWsdXcw/s1600/IMG_6221.JPG" height="427" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whiskered Tern - two distant flight shots.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zxu_y6Yzvos/VBYj36ep6aI/AAAAAAAAB_g/m1rrj_2Xa2g/s1600/IMG_6226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zxu_y6Yzvos/VBYj36ep6aI/AAAAAAAAB_g/m1rrj_2Xa2g/s1600/IMG_6226.JPG" height="406" width="640" /></a></div><br />The bird was good but perhaps the best part of the day was catching up with old friends. &nbsp;I don't often get to bird with Michael and Philip these days (Michael became a world-lister and Philip a surfer). &nbsp;I also got to spend time with Louise Zemaitis and Michael O'Brien, Jeff Gordon, Mary Gustafson, etc. &nbsp;A veritable who's who of the birding world in one place. &nbsp;Who knows, perhaps I should twitch more often ....<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6f4SBCQEirU/VB3MrRA4JNI/AAAAAAAACAM/2o6ipmDOMP8/s1600/noname.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6f4SBCQEirU/VB3MrRA4JNI/AAAAAAAACAM/2o6ipmDOMP8/s1600/noname.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Michael Duffy</td></tr></tbody></table>Postscript: 8 days later and the bird is still there (no doubt having been seen by every serious ABA lister by now).<br /><br />I'd assumed that Whiskered Terns ate small (tasty-looking) damselflies but I've since seen photos that show it eating large migrant dragonflies. &nbsp;Given the location, and the abundance of large migrating dragonflies, there's no reason it wouldn't stay for another week or two before (presumably) heading South to the dragonfly-rich wetlands of Florida. &nbsp;Potential for many other state firsts here ....<br /><div style="text-align: left;"></div>Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com1New York, NY, USA40.7127837 -74.00594130000001840.3275957 -74.651388300000022 41.0979717 -73.360494300000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-27467225242943562252014-09-13T13:18:00.000-04:002014-09-13T15:26:16.801-04:00California - Orcas, Albatrosses and Condors<br /><div>A rare weekend off - chasing some Bucket List critters in California</div><div><br /></div><div>Just back from California and somewhere between tech stuff in San Francisco, wine stuff in Napa, and a visit to LA, I managed to squeeze in some birding in Monterey County.</div><div><br /></div><div>I haven't done a&nbsp;<a href="http://shearwaterjourneys.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Debbie Shearwater Pelagic Trip</a>&nbsp;since the 90's but booked a couple for the weekend. &nbsp;Had hoped to do both but, given the schedule, I had to choose one and given the locations, opted for an 'old school' Monterey trip - not likely to produce lifers, but most likely to produce nostalgic memories (these things get important when you're a worn-out old world-lister).</div><div><br /></div><div>Joined the crew at 7am and met Debbie (who didn't remember me from the old days), Brian Sullivan (on board bird expert and eBird grandee), and a crew of birders some newbies, some pelagic veterans. &nbsp;The weather was perfect with flat seas, almost no wind, and overcast skies - given my tendency to hurl chum in the smallest of waves I was really excited for a nice, low key, pelagic sampler. &nbsp;Definitely looked like it was going to be a great trip, and it was.</div><div><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EptpKQBcfFI/VBRvg0HFpUI/AAAAAAAAB90/STMtufHGFmg/s1600/IMG_6945.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EptpKQBcfFI/VBRvg0HFpUI/AAAAAAAAB90/STMtufHGFmg/s1600/IMG_6945.JPG" height="251" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black-vented Shearwaters - lots of these in the Sooty Shearwater flocks ...</td></tr></tbody></table><div>Once out of the docks, and past a nice selection of Shore (rock) birds, including Black Turnstone, Wandering Tattler, Surfbird and Black Oystercatcher, we soon headed out into the bay. &nbsp;Shearwaters were everywhere, in staggering numbers. &nbsp; Apparently the anchovies are recovering and there were vast flocks of shearwaters &nbsp;chowing down within sight of land. &nbsp;This place is just truly awesome in terms of the biomass of interesting things.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>As we worked out way out we spent several hours pushing the shearwater flocks around. &nbsp;The trip the day before had had a Flesh-footed Shearwater (good bird) so Debbie was keen to spend time kicking the shearwaters around to see what was there. &nbsp;There were tens of thousands of Sooty Shearwaters, thousands of Black-vented Shearwaters, lots of Pink-footed Shearwaters and even a few Manx Shearwaters (newly breeding in the Pacific?). &nbsp;We also had a brief look at a bird that felt good for STREAKED SHEARWATER, but not seen by all and none of us got good photos. &nbsp;Definitely a Shearwater day on a Shearwater Journey.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MiL7uy54v08/VBRyJSASe8I/AAAAAAAAB-A/JXHECpfgEx0/s1600/IMG_6863.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MiL7uy54v08/VBRyJSASe8I/AAAAAAAAB-A/JXHECpfgEx0/s1600/IMG_6863.JPG" height="393" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pink-footed Shearwater</td></tr></tbody></table><div>Shearwaters aside, we did get a good mix of other pelagic species. &nbsp;A Scripts's Murrelet was the class act among many Cassin's and Rhinoceros Auklets and lots of Common Murres. &nbsp;A good smattering of Red-necked Phalaropes, Sabine's Gulls, and single Northern Fulmar (please split these Pacific Birds - so obviously not the same species) also added some interest.</div><div><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sP9ka6TwnXc/VBRy_kBNL-I/AAAAAAAAB-M/D_IS73eltsI/s1600/IMG_6569.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sP9ka6TwnXc/VBRy_kBNL-I/AAAAAAAAB-M/D_IS73eltsI/s1600/IMG_6569.JPG" height="285" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The world's rattiest Northern Fulmar</td></tr></tbody></table><div>There were also Elegant and Common Terns, a nice mix of Pomarine and Parasitic Jaegers and a few gulls to look at. &nbsp;Never a dull moment for an East Coast birder on a West Coast pelagic.</div><div><br /></div><div>What was missing though was Storm-Petrels. &nbsp;A single Black-Storm Petrel, not seen by me, was the only Storm-Petrel record on the trip. &nbsp;Each and every trip is different ... the joy and the frustration of pelagic birding.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>One of the best things about West Coast pelagics though is the presence of LOTS of sea mammals. &nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Velt8wMFZG8/VBRzyMGrtmI/AAAAAAAAB-U/PGq0u_5PWi4/s1600/IMG_6614.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Velt8wMFZG8/VBRzyMGrtmI/AAAAAAAAB-U/PGq0u_5PWi4/s1600/IMG_6614.JPG" height="245" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dall's Porpoise</td></tr></tbody></table>&nbsp;We had 8 species of Sea-mammal on this trip: Sea-Otter, California Sea-Lion, Northern Fur-Seal, Harbor Seal, Humpback Whale, Harbor Porpoise, Dall's Porpoise, and ORCA!<br /><br />A family of 6-8 Orcas came by while we were watching the Murrelet and we were able to follow them for maybe a half and hour. &nbsp;Truly awesome to finally see Orcas - a bucket list species and a check mark ....<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2SwoW3l_W_0/VBRz0RhmnJI/AAAAAAAAB-c/HdKSYhZk1YE/s1600/IMG_6775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2SwoW3l_W_0/VBRz0RhmnJI/AAAAAAAAB-c/HdKSYhZk1YE/s1600/IMG_6775.JPG" height="313" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black-footed Albatross over Orcas (pretty cool) ....</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2BHuYihI6_A/VBR1XyuTlcI/AAAAAAAAB-o/Mjo_Hly-YUQ/s1600/IMG_6898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2BHuYihI6_A/VBR1XyuTlcI/AAAAAAAAB-o/Mjo_Hly-YUQ/s1600/IMG_6898.JPG" height="394" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Db7nQsNq9BI/VBR1aXodoNI/AAAAAAAAB-w/5fZ0_kOq4es/s1600/IMG_6921.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Db7nQsNq9BI/VBR1aXodoNI/AAAAAAAAB-w/5fZ0_kOq4es/s1600/IMG_6921.JPG" height="249" width="320" /></a></div><div>As usual (for me at least on a West Coast Pelagic) the star bird was am "East Cost" bird (although to be fair, a West Coast race, and potential split). &nbsp;The shout went out from the bow that there was a "Booby flying towards the boat" and soon we had a Brown Booby in the chum slick and later found it's roosting log and got some good shots. &nbsp;There have been several Brown Boobies in New York over the last few weeks - none of which I got organized to chase - so the irony of seeing one in California wasn't lost on me. &nbsp;Nice bird and a state bird for me. &nbsp;I've now seen them in three states, eventually I'll get one in New York ...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QHRzIdWwXXc/VBR7qdBAd9I/AAAAAAAAB_A/h_LPUSc9r7g/s1600/IMG_6808.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QHRzIdWwXXc/VBR7qdBAd9I/AAAAAAAAB_A/h_LPUSc9r7g/s1600/IMG_6808.JPG" height="410" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black-footed Albatross</td></tr></tbody></table><div>So with no plans for Sunday, we decided to look for Condors - California Condor is technically still extinct in the wild and how often to you get to chase extinct species? &nbsp;A quick morning trip to Pinnacles National Park drew a blank (although I did get my life Yellow-billed Magpies nearby). &nbsp;So an afternoon trip to the Ventana Inn in Big Sur became my last hope for this species on this trip. &nbsp;When we got to the restaurant (and Condor stake-out) the waitress informed me that there had been a juvenile Condor seen that morning, and that "we never see Condors here". &nbsp;Half way through lunch through I spotted a distant juvenile condor and then a closer adult - perhaps the waitresses need bins? &nbsp; &nbsp; Short-ribs, beer and Condors ... not a bad way to spend an hour or two .... but unfortunately my camera was having problems so no photos. &nbsp;Still, a good reason to go back to a beautiful spot and no complaints on my part. &nbsp;Perfect weekend break ... maybe I'll even bump into a Lawrence's Goldfinch one day ....</div>Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7127837 -74.00594130000001840.3275957 -74.651388300000022 41.0979717 -73.360494300000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-32949813933182082952014-08-16T12:45:00.001-04:002014-08-17T01:23:52.537-04:00Ghosts of Gone BirdsA little off topic but a cool thing to know about ...<br /><br /><br />Doing a little PR for a good cause here. &nbsp;I am fascinated by island endemics, island biogeography, extinct birds, and wildlife art. &nbsp;A few years ago I came across a project that encompassed all four <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hRa-72YWqV4/U-99bySBVTI/AAAAAAAAB8Q/uoYVJkSGJcg/s1600/Unknown-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hRa-72YWqV4/U-99bySBVTI/AAAAAAAAB8Q/uoYVJkSGJcg/s1600/Unknown-2.jpeg" height="400" width="263" /></a></div>things ....<br /><br />The&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ghostsofgonebirds.com/" target="_blank">Ghost of Gone Birds</a>&nbsp;project reached out to artists and asked them to paint images of extinct species (obviously many were island endemics) to raise awareness around bird extinction, etc. &nbsp;It's very much a UK thing but should probably be much more widely known. &nbsp;The fact that they included some of my favorite (non-bird) artists prompted a few unexpected purchases ... six of which now hang in various rooms. &nbsp;If you aren't aware of it, definitely worth checking out ...<br /><br />There's also a book by Ralph Steadman for purchase&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1620401061" target="_blank">Ralph Steadman: Ghosts of Gone Boids</a>&nbsp;which might get someone inspired (or just gather dust on a coffee table).<br /><br />Great cause though ... felt I needed to give it a plug ....<br /><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FNCd3oMP4BM/U-998VyKEjI/AAAAAAAAB8Y/3FT_cS7zykE/s1600/Ralph-Steadman-a_2048218b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FNCd3oMP4BM/U-998VyKEjI/AAAAAAAAB8Y/3FT_cS7zykE/s1600/Ralph-Steadman-a_2048218b.jpg" height="250" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ralph Steadman - counter-culture icon with his painting of the extinct Guadalupe<br />Caracara - just bought it, haven't hung it yet.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mVKy6s0sCyk/U-999-Qz0eI/AAAAAAAAB8g/BDsqf-45Rx8/s1600/St-Helena.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mVKy6s0sCyk/U-999-Qz0eI/AAAAAAAAB8g/BDsqf-45Rx8/s1600/St-Helena.jpg" height="400" width="281" /></a></div>Just got this image as a birthday gift - the extinct, giant, flightless, St. Helena Hoopoe - yes, there once was a giant flightless, hoopoe (as late as the 1500's when European's and their cat and rat pals arrived on St. Helena).<br /><br />The prey in it's mouth is the (almost certainly extinct - last seen in 1967, despite searches in the 70's and 80's) St. Helena Giant Earwig. &nbsp;Some still hope that this critter still exists somewhere although obviously the chances are dimming with each year that passes.<br /><br />St. Helena, being so isolated once had a great selection of endemic species, including perhaps 2 rails, a pigeon, a pterodroma, the hoopoe, and a Sand-Plover (which is still hanging on).<br /><br />There were also apparently once an amazing diversity of plant species (some apparently being slowly managed back from the brink) on an island now dominated by invasive weeds.<br /><br />Let's hope that the Giant Earwig is clinging on somewhere.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ExIy0ENFXpg/U-9-BwHrGhI/AAAAAAAAB8w/77xeiOQaEKk/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ExIy0ENFXpg/U-9-BwHrGhI/AAAAAAAAB8w/77xeiOQaEKk/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" height="263" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dodo - this image hangs over the couch in my New York City Apartment.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Palla's Cormorant - another very cool image of a bird we somehow lost. </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sm8S8hmPEPQ/U-99_e4pUtI/AAAAAAAAB8o/bLn3T848zJQ/s1600/Unknown-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sm8S8hmPEPQ/U-99_e4pUtI/AAAAAAAAB8o/bLn3T848zJQ/s1600/Unknown-1.jpeg" height="400" width="289" /></span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Discovered by George Steller in 1741 who said that "they weighed 12-14 pounds, so that a single bird was sufficient for three starving men" Though cormorants are notoriously bad-tasting, Steller said that this bird tasted delicious, particularly when it was cooked in the way of the native Kamtchadals, who encased the whole bird in clay and buried it and baked it in heated pits (Source: Wikipedia). &nbsp;So you can guess what happened to them, and the last birds were seen in 1850.&nbsp;</span><br /><br />A contemporary of such other cool lost species as Steller's Sea-Cow (how cool would it be now to have giant sea-cows hanging around your favorite Alaska birding spots).<br /><br />This picture hangs over the pool table in East Hampton (along with Audubon's Labrador Duck), although perhaps, given their culinary-driven demise, I should move them to the kitchen ....<br /><br />Anyway, great cause, hope I got someone interested in checking it out ... fighting for these unique scraps of evolution is absolutely worth it ... you fight battles to win wars. &nbsp;Don't let the demise of a single unique form go unchallenged ....<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7127837 -74.00594130000001840.3275957 -74.651388300000022 41.0979717 -73.360494300000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-32204109628774890162014-07-12T11:57:00.000-04:002014-07-12T13:37:18.274-04:00Madeira ... the quest for Zino's PetrelRandom trip to Portugal and my first Life Birds in quite a while ....<br /><br />So sometimes you have to do something spontaneous. &nbsp;My plan for last week was just to chill in East Hampton but, after a mellow weekend I got yanked back to the City for meetings on Monday and Tuesday and rather than head back out for July 4th, I decided I wanted to go somewhere different. &nbsp;After sifting through the available choices on Monday, I hit the phones and the internet and booked tickets to Madeira hoping to pick up some life birds and in particular ... a Zino's Petrel. <br /><br />I had the flights and the hotel but no firm birding plans so I stalked the folks at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.madeirawindbirds.com/" target="_blank">Madeira Windbirds</a>&nbsp;hoping to charter a boat for a pelagic trip and figuring I could also add some endemic land birds over the weekend. &nbsp;After a few false starts Catarina Fagundes from Windbirds called me back and said they could shuffle their schedule, get me out on a boat (if they could get their hands on 60lbs of fresh chum) and also offered a couple of land bird excursions where I could could join scheduled trips and see all the good species and sub-species on the island. &nbsp;It sounded good so I wired some money for boats and chum, cancelled the rental car I'd booked and jumped on a plane on Tuesday night.<br /><br />Settling into the somewhat over-formal Reid's Palace Hotel in Funchal - Churchill hung out there apparently and it looks like they're still dressing for dinner as though they're expecting him to show up at any moment - I took some quiet time before the birding started the next day. &nbsp;After recovering from my jet-lag on Thursday morning, I joined Catarina and her partner Hugo Romano to get started on the birding on Thursday afternoon, local and endemic land birds were promised, and I was excited to see something new.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YLO9VxSuU0c/U7yLzTQ8RMI/AAAAAAAAB4s/XaeiVy17Vd0/s1600/IMG_6165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YLO9VxSuU0c/U7yLzTQ8RMI/AAAAAAAAB4s/XaeiVy17Vd0/s1600/IMG_6165.JPG" height="297" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Madeiran' Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs maderensis) the local, and blue-ish race of<br />Common Chaffinch (and not yet split).</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q_5EuOQnTnw/U7yL3pqD-DI/AAAAAAAAB40/6OTXBSE3YzU/s1600/IMG_6179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q_5EuOQnTnw/U7yL3pqD-DI/AAAAAAAAB40/6OTXBSE3YzU/s1600/IMG_6179.JPG" height="278" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Madeiran Firecrest' (Regulus madeirensis) - almost every authority or listing guru<br />splits this as a good species (outside the US). &nbsp;When I asked my local hosts as to<br />why the AOU hasn't split this yet (?) their response was that 'Americans are a bit slow'.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>So land birds on an island are somewhat limited and Madeira is no exception with just a handful of species, but most of which have evolved into distinct sub-species (and perhaps ultimately species). First stop was the Santa António da Serra area where we quickly got 'Madeiran' Chaffinch, 'Madeiran' Firecrest and the local sub-species of European Robin among other things. &nbsp;Then after a quick stop for Spanish Sparrow and the local sub-species of Gray Wagtail in Caniçal, we headed over to Ponta de São Lorenço in search of more open country birds.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W6BgJgT15Ig/U8BVrCEh4iI/AAAAAAAAB60/2yl_1sbwKeM/s1600/IMG_6214.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W6BgJgT15Ig/U8BVrCEh4iI/AAAAAAAAB60/2yl_1sbwKeM/s1600/IMG_6214.JPG" height="306" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">European Robin (Erithacus rubecula microrhinchos) - not sure this is a good sub-species?&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--A7bsGa8sWI/U8FGzJFfS5I/AAAAAAAAB7c/Wk5Cf78MVYg/s1600/IMG_6224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--A7bsGa8sWI/U8FGzJFfS5I/AAAAAAAAB7c/Wk5Cf78MVYg/s1600/IMG_6224.JPG" height="285" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spanish Sparrow - apparently introduced and declining but we saw quite a few birds at a small colony. &nbsp; <br />They apparently nest in the native palms which are being decimated by a weevil introduced in non-native plantings imported from Egypt. &nbsp;Same story the world over ...</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0LIgrJcIQRU/U7yMU1b0QYI/AAAAAAAAB5c/xY0rGdMFv7A/s1600/IMG_6297.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0LIgrJcIQRU/U7yMU1b0QYI/AAAAAAAAB5c/xY0rGdMFv7A/s1600/IMG_6297.JPG" height="272" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Berthelot's Pipit - a regional endemic which occurs on Madeira and on the Canary<br />Islands.</td></tr></tbody></table>The grassland community had some interesting birds including a trio of species - Berthelot's Pipit, Plain Swift and Island Canary - which are all endemic to the Atlantic Islands (Madeira, the Canary Islands, etc.). &nbsp;We also spent some time looking for, and finally found, some Rock Sparrows (Rock Petronia) and saw several of the local race of Eurasian Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus canariensis). &nbsp;Everything here seems to be diverging in some way.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HHj1ANE51j8/U7yM1tLFaNI/AAAAAAAAB5k/QISyyLKL9To/s1600/IMG_2595.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HHj1ANE51j8/U7yM1tLFaNI/AAAAAAAAB5k/QISyyLKL9To/s1600/IMG_2595.jpg" height="210" width="400" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cJmt1N_XT7c/U7yMJelhZ8I/AAAAAAAAB5M/KWYQ7lWTm8Y/s1600/IMG_6330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cJmt1N_XT7c/U7yMJelhZ8I/AAAAAAAAB5M/KWYQ7lWTm8Y/s1600/IMG_6330.JPG" height="231" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bulwer's Petrel - first on the chum and with us for the whole trip.&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--EGhRCtj9r0/U7yMMWf_fYI/AAAAAAAAB5U/IZDUYktXwQ8/s1600/IMG_6365.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--EGhRCtj9r0/U7yMMWf_fYI/AAAAAAAAB5U/IZDUYktXwQ8/s1600/IMG_6365.JPG" height="198" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White-faced Storm-Petrel - perhaps my favorite pelagic species.</td></tr></tbody></table>Friday afternoon was Pelagic time! You can see more details on the type of trip that Windbirds offers at <a href="http://www.madeirawindbirds.com/en/tours/zinos_petrel_pelagic_expedition.html" target="_blank">Winbirds website</a>&nbsp;along with more pictures, etc.&nbsp;We were heading out in the afternoon hoping to intercept Zino's Petrels as they returned to the island in the evening after feeding offshore all day. &nbsp;The sea at &nbsp;Ponta de São Lorenço was deceptively flat but as we cleared 'the channel' and headed out to the North side of the island the waves picked up and we pushed our way out 15 miles through quite choppy seas to an area Catarina knew well before deploying chum and settling in for three long drifts in our chum slick (perhaps 5 hours in the slick - and I didn't throw up, even once!).<br /><br />The trip out might have been choppy but it was also very birdy. &nbsp;We passed two large feeding groups of Cory's Shearwaters numbering several hundred birds, the first feeding over a group of Bryde's Whales (pronounced Broo-dah's) and Short-beaked Common Dolphins, the second feeding over a Sei Whale and a group of young Atlantic Spotted Dolphins. &nbsp;In the mix we also had some Manx Shearwaters and a single FEA'S PETREL (as much as a I wanted a Zino's this bird had a hulking great bill and flew like a Fea's - probably the locally breeding 'desertas' race who's island home was visible in the distance).<br /><br />Once out in the chum slick we spent the time waiting, waiting, waiting with nothing but BULWER"S PETRELS for company. &nbsp;We always had a couple in the slick but nothing else came to join them until around 8pm when the sun started to get lower and suddenly Storm-Petrels appeared. &nbsp;First up was a WHITE-FACED STORM-PETREL which danced it's way up and down the slick for an hour or so, then a visit from a MADEIRAN PETREL (nice to get Band-rumped Storm-Petrel at a breeding island) and then a late EUROPEAN STORM-PETREL. &nbsp;Not a bad haul of chum birds, but even though we stayed out so late that we ended up coming back to land in complete darkness, we did not luck out with a Zino's ....<br /><div style="text-align: right;"></div><br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7JHaeA8R4GI/U8BKvuDurTI/AAAAAAAAB6g/x_u7Q_R-SOI/s1600/IMG_2601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7JHaeA8R4GI/U8BKvuDurTI/AAAAAAAAB6g/x_u7Q_R-SOI/s1600/IMG_2601.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div><div>Saturday was a full day looking for land birds. &nbsp;TROCAZ PIGEON was a life bird for me, the first one in over a year. &nbsp;I'd expected to have to go to the Laurel forest for them but we went first to a cliff site where we could scope them high on scrubby trees on a relatively sparsely forested slope (although we did see on later at the Laurel Forest site). &nbsp;An interesting single-island endemic, with perhaps 2,700 birds left on the island (and in the world).</div><div><br /></div><div>Interestingly it seems that it's ancestor was the Common Wood-Pigeon and that that species apparently arrived and evolved separately on the island on two separate occasions. &nbsp;The first invasion produced the Trocaz Pigeon, while the second (presumably later) invasion evolved into a distinct sub-species of Wood-Pigeon (Columba palumbus maderensis) which went extinct in the early part of the 20th century. &nbsp;Who knows, maybe Wood-Pigeon will colonize again (there have been some recent records) and start a third species? Island endemics, and Island Biogeography are endlessly fascinating ....&nbsp;</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3ydEliy3o4E/U8BLVjxTUHI/AAAAAAAAB6k/iYgHo0fWHAs/s1600/IMG_2610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3ydEliy3o4E/U8BLVjxTUHI/AAAAAAAAB6k/iYgHo0fWHAs/s1600/IMG_2610.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fqYcPFTG3Go/U7yNCF7gyAI/AAAAAAAAB58/ESrHFIxZwiI/s1600/IMG_2612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fqYcPFTG3Go/U7yNCF7gyAI/AAAAAAAAB58/ESrHFIxZwiI/s1600/IMG_2612.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>The Laurel Forest habitat was actually pretty cool - green and semi-tropical on an island that up until now had looked pretty arid and brown. &nbsp;In addition to the laurels there were several species of 'heather' some chest high, some basically small trees. &nbsp;There were also some unique looking plants like 'Pride of Madeira' (left) which is apparently common as a transplant in California and is actually a great hummingbird plant there. &nbsp;One local tour company famously even used a photo of this species, complete with feeding hummingbirds, on their local tour brochure. &nbsp;Who knows, perhaps next time I come I'll bring a box of Black-chinned Hummingbirds, I'm sure they'd do well here (kidding).<br /><br />There is also apparently and endemic dragonfly, no doubt some endemic butterflies, etc. and for a while I was wishing I had more time to explore the non-vertebrates on the island. &nbsp;I did see a lot of the endemic Madeiran Wall-Lizard (Lacerta dugesii) though so at least I got one new non-bird for the Life List.<br /><br />The afternoon saw us birding at Ponta do Pargo, again a grassland area where we added Pallid Swift, Red-legged Partridge, several calling Common Quail and the local sub-species of Spectacled Warbler (orbitalis) and Common Buzzard (harterti). &nbsp;Then after a quick stop for Common Waxbills it was time to go back to the hotel for dinner and a nap before round two with the Zino's Petrels - if the Zino's wouldn't come to me, then I'd have to go to the Zino's ....<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Iyi3KTuYHpM/U8FJ4kUC5TI/AAAAAAAAB7o/e8GPplsvj_Q/s1600/IMG_2614.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Iyi3KTuYHpM/U8FJ4kUC5TI/AAAAAAAAB7o/e8GPplsvj_Q/s1600/IMG_2614.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><br />Back in the van at 9:30pm for a drive to the Pico do Arieiro - jagged mountain tops 6,000 feet above sea level and well above cloud level that night. &nbsp;Once we cleared the clouds we were presented with a truly awesome sight, ragged mountain peaks floating above the island under a sea of stars and bathed in silver moonlight. &nbsp;Truly quite an awesome place to go look for birds. &nbsp;Hugo and Catarina offer the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.madeirawindbirds.com/en/tours/madeira_zinos_night_expedition.html" target="_blank">Windbirds Night Trip for Zino's Petrel</a>&nbsp;during the breeding season and, as it was my best and only chance to actually see one, we were soon hiking off along steep moonlit trails along the mountain tops to one of the few known breeding colonies of this rare seabird.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jN6ZOftxqM0/U7yNr8jY63I/AAAAAAAAB6M/iT2dbJPQq6w/s1600/IMG_2641.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jN6ZOftxqM0/U7yNr8jY63I/AAAAAAAAB6M/iT2dbJPQq6w/s1600/IMG_2641.jpg" height="320" width="296" /></a></div>By 11pm we were set up on a razorback ridge line with steep cliffs descending vertically into the clouds on either side of a narrow trail. &nbsp;Sitting quietly we'd been told that the birds would come in to exchange incubation duties at nest burrows on the cliffs below us and that we might hear and see some. &nbsp;Sure enough, not long afterwards we heard a 'whooshing' sound as a bird passed over us in the darkness (the breeders apparently go silently to the nest burrows) followed by the eery calls of several Zino's flying around us (non-breeders visit the colony at night and make lots of noise). &nbsp;Putting the moon to our backs we were able to see the birds, firstly ghost-like silhouettes, but when they came close and caught the moon light, we could actually see what they were. &nbsp;Perhaps &nbsp;half a dozen or more birds kiting around, sometimes in close formation, skimming the cliff edges and blasting by within feet of us as we stood still on the trail. &nbsp;In minutes, Zino's Petrel went from 'most wanted lifer' to 'heard only' to 'not-quite tick-able views' on the hierarchy of 'not quite on the life list'. &nbsp;Notwithstanding the rules of World Listing though, it was an awesome experience to be there in such an mid blowing place with this incredibly enigmatic species wheeling and wailing around us.<br /><br />As luck would have it though, we weren't done yet. &nbsp;It turns out that we weren't alone on the mountain that night and as we came back up towards the parking lot (several hundred steep steps that were a bit easier going down earlier) we bumped into some researchers who were trying to band and radio-tag petrels. &nbsp;We'd left them alone earlier but, as they were packing up for the night, we went over to talk, and just as they were taking their nets down, a petrel flew into the mist net (!). &nbsp;Once they'd processed the bird, they were kind enough to let us see one in the hand - truly an honor - sometimes life just works out perfectly. &nbsp;And yes, based on what I'd seen so far that night, and seeing this bird go into the net, I did add ZINO'S PETREL to my life list. &nbsp;One of the best natural history experiences I've had in years. <br /><br />Back at the hotel - and watching a Barn Owl hunting around the hotel grounds at 2:30am - I had a chance to reflect on the trip. &nbsp;Very glad I came, a truly wonderful break and great experience - even if they do speak Brazilian poorly here. &nbsp;Hugo and Catarina are real pros and highly recommended. &nbsp;Definitely a weekend trip to consider if you find yourself in range of Madeira (it's only 12 hours from New York!).&nbsp;</div></div>Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7127837 -74.00594130000001840.3275957 -74.651388300000022 41.0979717 -73.360494300000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-39363119613578941322014-06-18T19:31:00.003-04:002014-07-12T12:58:56.202-04:00Birds, Whales, and Turtles off Hatteras North CarolinaTwo days of pelagic birding off North Carolina<br /><br />Just back from a quick three day trip to North Carolina and Virginia. &nbsp;It's been a long time (15 years?) since I've managed to get down to do a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.patteson.com/" target="_blank">Brian Patteson Pelagic Trip</a>, but inspired earlier this year, I signed up for two trips last weekend with Alvaro Jaramillo (who also made it easy to link and pay online). <br /><br />Thursday mid day saw me sneaking away from work and running out to LaGuardia for a flight to Norfolk, Virginia. &nbsp;Once there, I grabbed a rental car and drove down to Hatteras, North Carolina. &nbsp;The weather was crappy - thunder storms all the way down - and it was a long drive - but I was optimistic that it couldn't last all weekend so I checked into my hotel, sorted my kit and set the alarm for 4am Friday morning, super excited to get out into the gulf stream for the first time in many years.<br /><br />Friday morning was windy and raining but I headed over to the dock and when I saw people loading chum onto the boat I figured we'd probably go out. &nbsp;Brian appeared shortly thereafter and confirmed that we were going, so after a quick orientation we were soon heading out to sea. &nbsp;The sea in question was pretty rough though and, even though I took my dramamine I was soon throwing up as we plowed through 'snotty' waters for two hours (I'm just not a good sailor what can I say). &nbsp;Over the years I've got used to this sort of start to the day - praying for death at dawn and throwing up for an hour or two, then my body eventually gets used to it and I'm finally glad I came. &nbsp;It's sort of an act of faith but as I always say, 'you don't look, you don't see' and in the case of pelagics 'if you don't suffer, you don't see'. &nbsp;This morning's crew was serious, with Alvaro Jaramillo, George Armistead, Naeem Yusuff (of Brookline Bird Club Pelagic fame), Nick Block, and half of the top birders from Chicago on board ... a very capable crew and a good sign for some interesting birds. &nbsp;So I slogged my way though the waves and the sea-sickness knowing that it would probably all be worth it in the end .... and it was.<br /><br />Soon enough (well perhaps not soon enough at the time) we reached the Gulf Stream, the waves died down, and we got started with the birding thing. &nbsp;As it turns out we got started quickly, as not long after we arrived in the calmer 'blue' waters someone shouted "Tropicbird!" and all eyes went up as a juvenile RED-BILLED TROPICBIRD came over boat. &nbsp;Not a bad start!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nuS1SmSGREM/U588avPCadI/AAAAAAAAB2s/XJsozQg5LIc/s1600/IMG_5765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nuS1SmSGREM/U588avPCadI/AAAAAAAAB2s/XJsozQg5LIc/s1600/IMG_5765.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-billed Tropicbird - a crappy photo of a really cool bird and an ABA Bird for me.</td></tr></tbody></table>The next five hours were really very birdy, exactly what you come to North Carolina for. &nbsp;Cory's, Great, Manx and Audubon's Shearwaters zipped by the boat. &nbsp;Wilson's, Leaches' and Band-rumped Storm-Petrels followed the chum line, and several Black-capped Petrels came by to check out what was on offer. &nbsp;All classic Gulf Stream stuff. &nbsp;You don't get this in New York!<br /><br />We also got some Bridled and Arctic Terns and some cool cetaceans (Short-finned Pilot-Whales and 'Offshore' Bottlenose Dolphins). &nbsp;I simply love it out in there - flying fish, sargassum, leaping Mahi Mahi, lots of birds, simply awesome. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j0sHfn1SFlM/U588gxbF0UI/AAAAAAAAB20/3kzMWRckX9c/s1600/IMG_5883.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j0sHfn1SFlM/U588gxbF0UI/AAAAAAAAB20/3kzMWRckX9c/s1600/IMG_5883.JPG" height="276" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bridled Tern - one of three we saw over the weekend.&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VfmLhyCT08I/U588iv4G2WI/AAAAAAAAB28/PqNh-uEmsfY/s1600/IMG_5956.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VfmLhyCT08I/U588iv4G2WI/AAAAAAAAB28/PqNh-uEmsfY/s1600/IMG_5956.JPG" height="273" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arctic Tern - always a good bird on the East Coast.</td></tr></tbody></table>As a special bonus Kate Sutherland (Brian Patterson's extraordinary first mate / onboard biologist) even scooped up some Sargassum so we could look for 'critters' and we got to see several crab and shrimp species plus a few Planehead Filefish (Stephanolepis hispidus) which was a Life fish for me. &nbsp;The good feelings even got me through the miserable ride back to the dock ... more waves ... ugly ... but I managed to resist the urge to kiss the ground when we got back to the dock (I have done that before). &nbsp;Great day ....<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oXjK2Y41vcE/U588xMnYnCI/AAAAAAAAB3U/Me5Pqe0e-tU/s1600/IMG_5902.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oXjK2Y41vcE/U588xMnYnCI/AAAAAAAAB3U/Me5Pqe0e-tU/s1600/IMG_5902.JPG" height="257" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Audubon's Shearwater - we saw lots of these on both days.</td></tr></tbody></table>Saturday dawned, well way too early. &nbsp;Another 4am alarm call and as I stumbled out of the hotel room at 4:30am I was greeted by a spectacular thunder storm with arc lightening and torrential rain. &nbsp;For a while I though Brian would surely cancel the trip but by the time I got to the marina the rain was dying down and I saw Kate heading to the boat (and heard a Common Nighthawk) so I figured we were probably good for round two. &nbsp;Sure enough, the storm was heading offshore so, despite the pyrotechnics, we were off again at 5:30am and ploughing through more rough seas (yes, I threw up again) before finding calmer waters when we got to the Gulf Stream a couple of hours later.<br /><br />Today's birds were not quite as good, in fact it was pretty flat compared to the day before. &nbsp;We did see lots of Black-capped Petrels, quite a few BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETRELS, but no terns, no Tropicbirds, and in fact the birding was almost dull for those of us who'd been out on Friday (although our fresh faces doing a one-day tip were thrilled with the birds we saw).<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rmwVIVp5mSg/U588ofhYnQI/AAAAAAAAB3E/-5d-nzdekco/s1600/IMG_5972.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rmwVIVp5mSg/U588ofhYnQI/AAAAAAAAB3E/-5d-nzdekco/s1600/IMG_5972.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black-capped Petrel &nbsp;(2 shots) - the only Pterodroma we saw over the weekend,<br />but we saw lots of them and no-one ever gets tired of watching the amazing wind-surfers.&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-naMBaNj2NNU/U588-rc1YZI/AAAAAAAAB3k/MiEkN_W5SAI/s1600/IMG_6074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-naMBaNj2NNU/U588-rc1YZI/AAAAAAAAB3k/MiEkN_W5SAI/s1600/IMG_6074.JPG" height="288" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CyzOTux68Rg/U588240snMI/AAAAAAAAB3c/6Zq0qV3egSk/s1600/IMG_6050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CyzOTux68Rg/U588240snMI/AAAAAAAAB3c/6Zq0qV3egSk/s1600/IMG_6050.JPG" height="313" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Band-rumped Storm-Petrel - easy to ID once you have your 'eye in'.</td></tr></tbody></table>Things picked up and got really exciting though when we headed back in late in the afternoon (and once I'd put my camera away). &nbsp;First up was a giant LEATHERBACK SEA-TURTLE (my best look ever) and, while we were looking at that incredible prehistoric critter, another Bridled Tern came by, soon joined by Royal and Black Terns. &nbsp;The we had the 'mega whale' experience ....<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fcvOx_rNIFQ/U7s5j286OgI/AAAAAAAAB4c/EluheZQkzIo/s1600/10464396_671653089594582_4244188387658379308_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fcvOx_rNIFQ/U7s5j286OgI/AAAAAAAAB4c/EluheZQkzIo/s1600/10464396_671653089594582_4244188387658379308_n.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leatherback Turtle &nbsp;Photo: Alvaro Jaramillo (used with permission)</td></tr></tbody></table>Although the birds are always top of mind on a pelagic trip, the highlights of this weekend were probably actually the cetaceans. &nbsp;We had 'Offshore' Bottlenose Dolphins, Short-finned Pilot-Whales, and Cuvier's Beaked-Whales, but the star for me was a pod of FALSE KILLER-WHALES that came to ride our bow-wave for 20 minutes on the way back in that afternoon. &nbsp;This was a species that I'd always wanted to see in the Atlantic and when they appeared and came over to the boat I was simply ecstatic, awestruck, giddy, whatever. &nbsp;These fast-moving, super-smart, small whales eat Tuna, Billfish and Mahi Mahi, and use their big brains to catch these fast-moving fish. &nbsp;They seemed genuinely curious to see us, turning their heads to look at the 'apes' on the boat and coming back many times to try to interact with us, &nbsp;Such amazing creatures and the wildlife highlight of the year so far.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x_Fo1wZZ-qc/U6DGaSPBGUI/AAAAAAAAB30/qmtwcI29BUo/s1600/10374857_10101535332922326_1405794303149724987_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x_Fo1wZZ-qc/U6DGaSPBGUI/AAAAAAAAB30/qmtwcI29BUo/s1600/10374857_10101535332922326_1405794303149724987_n.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">False Killer-Whales (2 shots) &nbsp;Photo: Jim Gould (used with permission)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h_iKQrRJD0c/U6DGbvfnGKI/AAAAAAAAB38/-qj4jEc4k3w/s1600/10473199_10101535331844486_2576899081067063786_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h_iKQrRJD0c/U6DGbvfnGKI/AAAAAAAAB38/-qj4jEc4k3w/s1600/10473199_10101535331844486_2576899081067063786_n.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div><br />Sunday morning was supposed to be a bit of a let-down after the pelagics but it actually turned out to be pretty good. &nbsp;An early morning stop at Pea Island NWR produced a juvenile Reddish Egret, a Wilson's Plover and a nice selection of shorebirds including Black-necked Stilt and American Avocet. &nbsp;Then off to the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia, where despite 'Alaska-quality' blood-sucking bugs, I was happy to add SWAINSON'S WARBLER along with lots of Hooded and Prothonatory Warblers and an Acadian Flycatcher. <br /><br />Special thanks to Alvaro and George for putting this together and all the expert spotting on the boat, and of course thanks to Brian and Kate for running this amazing operation. &nbsp;A truly great trip, very glad I came. &nbsp;Remind me to do this more often ....<br /><div><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br />Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7127837 -74.00594130000001840.3275957 -74.651388300000022 41.0979717 -73.360494300000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-9892775450758964052014-06-01T18:24:00.000-04:002014-06-01T18:26:33.863-04:00Photospot: Vesper Sparrow on Eastern Long IslandBack to the Summer Season in East Hampton and entertaining guests most weekends, but this morning I was able to sneak away for a few hours and birded Shinecock Inlet (Sooty Shearwater, Wilson's Storm-Petrel, Clapper Rail, Red Knot, etc.) and then grabbed a few minutes at Gabreski Airport near Quogue. &nbsp;This airport (pre-9-11) used to be much more accessible, but given the modern security environment it's hard to get back to areas where we used to see Upland Sandpipers, etc. (who knows if they're still in there). &nbsp;Still, if you're prepared to ignore the first few "no entry" signs you can still get in far enough to see one of the better, and scarcer, breeding birds on Long Island, the Vesper Sparrow. &nbsp;Try to go back further though, and you'll be turned away. &nbsp;Perhaps best to leave the mystery of the Upland Sandpipers alone for now ....<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iheiiHOuL50/U4umkFDmbCI/AAAAAAAAB0U/pb1DFdhQsOI/s1600/IMG_5750.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iheiiHOuL50/U4umkFDmbCI/AAAAAAAAB0U/pb1DFdhQsOI/s1600/IMG_5750.JPG" height="316" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vesper Sparrow (3 shots) - a small breeding population hangs on in the Pine Barrens<br />of Eastern Long Island, and sometimes Winter's nearby. &nbsp;Was lucky to have this bird<br />fly across the road in front of the car and jumped out to grab a few shots.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SqTXqUoeVIY/U4umopMI_-I/AAAAAAAAB0c/Fv7-25yLZ6w/s1600/IMG_5751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SqTXqUoeVIY/U4umopMI_-I/AAAAAAAAB0c/Fv7-25yLZ6w/s1600/IMG_5751.JPG" height="270" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oE1iDerEqCY/U4umpnift8I/AAAAAAAAB0g/0r036qp380M/s1600/IMG_5754.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oE1iDerEqCY/U4umpnift8I/AAAAAAAAB0g/0r036qp380M/s1600/IMG_5754.JPG" height="272" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7056308 -73.978003540.3204428 -74.6234505 41.0908188 -73.3325565tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-85197463408243679592014-05-20T19:44:00.002-04:002014-06-02T16:21:33.962-04:00Catching up on Warblers just North of New York City ...A quick circuit of state parks and other hotspots North of New York City.<br /><br />So I thought I might go to Cape May today to look for kites (they had Swallow-tailed and Mississippi Kites yesterday) but when the alarm went off at 4am, by brain was willing but my body said "No", there was just no way I was up for that kind of drive today. &nbsp;Just too tired I guess, so I turned off the alarm, got up at 6am and instead headed North to some of the State parks North of New York City in search of some of the warblers that I'd missed this year in Central Park.<br /><br />First stop was Doodletown Road, a nice trail in Bear Mountain State Park about an hour North of the City. &nbsp;This park is famous for it's CERULEAN WARBLERS, a bird I'd missed in the Park this year and was obviously popular with New York birders this week as I saw many old friends. &nbsp;The trail was very birdy with 15+ species of warblers including a lot of migrant Tennessee Warblers, an Olive-sided Flycatcher, and a nice selection of local birds. &nbsp;My focus was very much in the two specialty warblers there though and I soon had a nice look at a male Cerulean, and then a brief look at a female at a nest. &nbsp;I also got to hear, but not see, a KENTUCKY WARBLER (thanks to&nbsp;Jeff Ritter). &nbsp;When I bumped into Rich Cech later he said that you basically come here for those two species, and they cooperated remarkably well. &nbsp;A very cool spot ... two target species ... done.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UgOEh-LgC08/U3lE6Ae5jpI/AAAAAAAABzM/ZJOai0e0IrA/s1600/IMG_5626.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UgOEh-LgC08/U3lE6Ae5jpI/AAAAAAAABzM/ZJOai0e0IrA/s1600/IMG_5626.JPG" height="251" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cerulean Warbler nest .... saw the female building it when I first saw it, but<br />she didn't come back for a photo.<br />Black Racer ... a very cool snake seen warming up on the trail.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h22VjNlTSdM/U3lE7jPdI-I/AAAAAAAABzU/rb3qcqn3MIs/s1600/IMG_5629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h22VjNlTSdM/U3lE7jPdI-I/AAAAAAAABzU/rb3qcqn3MIs/s1600/IMG_5629.JPG" height="268" width="400" /></a></div><br />After Doodletown I headed over the Sterling Forest SP with a plan to see a GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER. &nbsp;As I pulled in to the site I bumped into a gaggle of New York City birder (Richard Friend, Peter Post, Anders Peltomaa, Brian Paden, etc.) who quickly gave me good directions to the warbler sites. &nbsp;A half hour later, after some advice from some photographers, I did find a Golden-winged Warbler which was singing and vigorously defending it's territory from a Blue-winged Warbler. &nbsp;The sad thing about this site it that it's very much on the front-line of the war between Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warblers and sadly the Blue-winged Warblers are winning. &nbsp;Over the years I've been in New York the number of Golden-winged locations has slowly declined each year as each site has winked-out one-by-one with the Blue-winged Warblers slowly absorbing their sister species and pushing them further North. &nbsp;We're not sure how much longer we'll have Golden-winged Warblers here and this is basically the last place 'downstate' that you can see them reliably. &nbsp;But they're still around this year so I made the most of the views .... really neat bird ....<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xmOFms2f9YI/U3lGA1zXbaI/AAAAAAAABzg/3tZW9oUHoBo/s1600/IMG_5640.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xmOFms2f9YI/U3lGA1zXbaI/AAAAAAAABzg/3tZW9oUHoBo/s1600/IMG_5640.JPG" height="302" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Golden-winged Warblers (3 shots)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P0FGLELopjo/U3lGCfFGjWI/AAAAAAAABzo/bK6bbTm-ajk/s1600/IMG_5671.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P0FGLELopjo/U3lGCfFGjWI/AAAAAAAABzo/bK6bbTm-ajk/s1600/IMG_5671.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QzWuLjFYbHA/U3lGEiXtyfI/AAAAAAAABzw/vyJnapUy2jY/s1600/IMG_5677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QzWuLjFYbHA/U3lGEiXtyfI/AAAAAAAABzw/vyJnapUy2jY/s1600/IMG_5677.JPG" height="277" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--29GmqiOOjU/U3lGGU7wTtI/AAAAAAAABz4/OZgRhJCjD-8/s1600/IMG_5694.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--29GmqiOOjU/U3lGGU7wTtI/AAAAAAAABz4/OZgRhJCjD-8/s1600/IMG_5694.JPG" height="292" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue-winged Warblers (the villain of the piece) ....</td></tr></tbody></table>Having got the three warblers I came for, and still having time to kill, I decided to joint Richard Fried and co. and head up to Blue Chips Farm (a 600-acre horse farm) to hopefully add an UPLAND SANDPIPER for the year list. &nbsp;Richard and I got brief views of a distant sandpiper, one of my favorite North American birds, but couldn't get the others on it before it vanished behind a fold in the field. &nbsp;So on to the Shawangunk Grasslands, a former airport that has been restored as grassland habitat and had a great selection of grassland birds (declining in the East). &nbsp;We had Eastern Meadowlarks, Eastern Kingbirds, Eastern Bluebirds, American Kestrel and lots of displaying Bobolinks. &nbsp;We also had two singing GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS - a bit of a surprise as we didn't realize they were there but apparently they've come back with the habitat restoration and numbers are increasing. &nbsp;This site was also one of the last 'downstate' sites where Henslow's Sparrow used to breed (another species declining sharply in the East) so let's hope they make it back there too. &nbsp;A very neat spot, and nice to see a grassland habitat on the rebound. &nbsp;I definitely should come North more often; even though I was only an hour-and-a-half North of the City, it really did feel like a day in the country.<br /><br />Postscript: &nbsp;the next week several birders bumped into (Eastern) Timber Rattlesnakes at this site - my most wanted Eastern herp. &nbsp;Should have stayed longer, and looked harder I guess. &nbsp;I really need to be more patient ....<br /><br />Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7056308 -73.978003540.3204428 -74.6234505 41.0908188 -73.3325565tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-56576893931839742472014-05-14T17:57:00.000-04:002014-05-14T17:58:26.947-04:00A Day off in Newfoundland.Unexpected day off to actually bird in Newfoundland.<br /><br />So after the easy hits (and epic birding day) on Monday. &nbsp;I found myself with a totally free day on Tuesday and planned to simply, well just go birding. &nbsp;I'd asked Jared Clarke for some suggestions and he kindly gave me some locations so I got up early, hit a Tim Hortons, and headed out for my favorite sort of day ... no plans, limited cell-phone reception, unfamiliar place ... and birds .....<br /><br />First stop was Cape Spear, which as cold and birdless, so I soon retreated to the boreal forests around the settlement at Blackhead (I presume this was named after a geographic feature, not a skin problem) and spent a happy couple of hours slowly working thought 'boreal' (black spruce) forest. &nbsp;I wanted Pine Grosebeaks and Boreal Chickadees and got both relatively easily, along with a supporting coast of Pine Siskins, both Kinglets, Fox and White-throated Sparrows, and Yellow-rumped Warblers. &nbsp;The dawn chorus was also supplemented by 'drumming' Ruffed Grouse and 'winnowing' Wilson's Snipe ... a very happy couple of hours for a 'lowland' birder.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dx2dibeK-x0/U3Pdq0iIoRI/AAAAAAAAByQ/nGJSlCtBYMM/s1600/IMG_5448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dx2dibeK-x0/U3Pdq0iIoRI/AAAAAAAAByQ/nGJSlCtBYMM/s1600/IMG_5448.JPG" height="286" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pine Grosbeak and Boreal Chickadee ... rare treats for a largely coastal birder.&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DASENHBKV6Y/U3Pdt3Kgd-I/AAAAAAAAByY/FmxJpaCbRLA/s1600/IMG_5476.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DASENHBKV6Y/U3Pdt3Kgd-I/AAAAAAAAByY/FmxJpaCbRLA/s1600/IMG_5476.JPG" height="270" width="400" /></a></div><br />Then back along scenic coasts to the Goulds area where I'd really hoped to get photos of yesterday's Black-tailed Godwit. &nbsp;No luck with that, although I spent a fair amount of time looking and did luck-out with great views of a River Otter that swam around in the marsh, came up on to the bank (do otters do anything that doesn't look like they're playing) and was so preposterously photogenic I completely forgot to pick up me camera. &nbsp;Sometimes you just have to look and not worry about the optics, it was a special moment.<br /><br />Next was Bidgood Park (on Jared's suggestion) where I planned to kill a few hours in what seemed like a pleasant, but not necessarily birdy, local park. &nbsp;While I was getting out out the car though, and before I was set up, I heard a crane bugling. &nbsp;"Nice" I thought, "didn't realize they had Sandhill Cranes here". &nbsp;The bird called a few more times and I looked up, got brief binocular views and got back to business, getting set up to to birding. &nbsp;It was only after a few steps that I thought to check the range map .... Sandhill Crane it tuns out was rare and accidental in Newfoundland. &nbsp;With all these East winds and Eurasian vagrants, did I overlook a Common Crane? &nbsp;Did I see a black neck? &nbsp;No ... surely I would have noticed that, right? &nbsp;Yes, it wasn't that high ... I would have noticed. &nbsp;So Sandhill it was, but it turns out that even that was a rare bird (Alvan Buckley still needs it for Newfoundland) so a good find nevertheless. <br /><br />The other rare bird I found at Bidgood Park was a bit of an oddity, but in a similar vein. &nbsp;At the far end of the marsh I heard and saw an Eastern Phoebe. &nbsp;Again after the fact I sort of had a vague recollection of the locals talking about a vagrant phoebe somewhere and I took photos just in case this was a different bird (they are very rare here apparently). &nbsp;As none of the locals have since commented on this bird, I'm guessing it was the one that they'd already found. &nbsp;Rarity is a function of geography it turns out ....<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YJgzJXFCFb8/U3PiU1wShxI/AAAAAAAAByo/vTx9Wyg9T7o/s1600/IMG_5491.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YJgzJXFCFb8/U3PiU1wShxI/AAAAAAAAByo/vTx9Wyg9T7o/s1600/IMG_5491.JPG" height="313" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eastern Phoebe ... garden bird in New York, rare in Newfoundland ...</td></tr></tbody></table>Next stop was back to look for the European Golden-Plovers in the hope of getting better photos. &nbsp;The birds were not on the field when I pulled up but just as I was leaving I saw a flock flying by and was able to get a few more shots (not all that much better) and an accurate count ... 58 (Jared's ~60 was pretty good it turns out). <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-go4Vbow3btg/U3Pjl5YaaLI/AAAAAAAAByw/0-Q1EDn2zyA/s1600/IMG_5544.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-go4Vbow3btg/U3Pjl5YaaLI/AAAAAAAAByw/0-Q1EDn2zyA/s1600/IMG_5544.JPG" height="292" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">European Golden-Plovers (two more shots)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nBsBU19dpbE/U3Pjo-RxC4I/AAAAAAAABy4/rOv_sEBOgdE/s1600/IMG_5587.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nBsBU19dpbE/U3Pjo-RxC4I/AAAAAAAABy4/rOv_sEBOgdE/s1600/IMG_5587.JPG" height="235" width="400" /></a></div><br />After that, and chilled to the bone, I sort of gave up for the day, ran back to St. John's and checked the &nbsp;ponds for ducks, adding 4 TUFTED DUCKS at Kent's Pond and intending to go back to the hotel. &nbsp;I thought I was done for the day, but the time in the car had warmed me up and, as it was still early, I though better of it and returned to Goulds for another crack at the godwit. &nbsp;No godwit, but while I was there I met some local birders who (were jealous of my crane but) gave me directions to another Northern Wheatear. &nbsp;By this time I was getting really cold and chilled but decided I'd like to end on a high note so headed over to Ruby Line Pond (farm?) to the "shit pile" to try to add one more good bird before I gave in. &nbsp;Sure enough, when I got there, there was a male Northern Wheatear on top of said pile, and I was happy to end my weekend on a high note with a good bird.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mjnML1pHPR0/U3PgU9XTHDI/AAAAAAAAByg/pC5PbK7FO5U/s1600/IMG_5622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mjnML1pHPR0/U3PgU9XTHDI/AAAAAAAAByg/pC5PbK7FO5U/s1600/IMG_5622.JPG" height="275" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northern Wheatear on a 'shit pile' ... the local term, not mine ...</td></tr></tbody></table>In the end I had 70 species for the trip, 3 ABA birds and numerous year-birds. &nbsp;It was a really great adventure and I'm sure I'll be back. &nbsp;Keep finding those European vagrants and I'll book a flight. &nbsp;Great trip ...<br /><br />Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-81497467191999580102014-05-14T16:14:00.003-04:002014-07-12T19:54:15.223-04:00Chasing "Euro-Trash" Shorebirds in Newfoundland.A quick trip for some ABA birds in Newfoundland, Canada ....<br /><br />So OK, I'll admit it. &nbsp;I have a crappy ABA list. &nbsp;Most of my friends have at least 700+ but I'm languishing somewhere in the 640s and have never really focused on it. &nbsp;I guess for two reasons, i) because when I first moved to the US in 1991 the idea of chasing vagrants from Europe in the NorthEast just wasn't all that appealing and, ii) once the World-listing bug kicked in I just couldn't see the thrill of trolling the Southern borders of the US for birds I'd already seen in Mexico, or sitting in the rain in Alaska hoping for a bird that I'd either just seen in Thailand, or which breeds in my parents' garden in Wales. &nbsp;Time I guess gives your perspective though, and now that I'm safely past my World-listing phase (and now that I've been here a while and see European birds less regularly), my ABA list is starting to get more interesting.<br /><br />I also blame eBird for this change of heart. &nbsp;Every day I get an email detailing ABA rarities, and while I'm usually able to ignore it, sometimes birds just stick in my mind. &nbsp;So after weeks of seeing reports of LaSagra's Flycatcher in Florida I went to see it. &nbsp;Then I just had to see a Sinaloa Wren in Arizona. &nbsp;Neither were Life Birds, but both somehow stuck in my mind and just had to be seen (I'm not even going to try to explain the psychology). &nbsp;More recently, the alert was filled with news of an incredible invasion of Eurasian shorebirds in Newfoundland and, after watching it for weeks, I gave in to the urge, booked tickets, and headed up to St. John's on Sunday.<br /><br />Before leaving I'd made contact with local birding experts Jared Clarke and Alvan Buckley who assured me that the birds were still there (but that they could leave any day). &nbsp;I'd arranged to bird with Jared on Monday so counted down the days, checking the eBird reports to make sure the goodies were sticking, until I finally I landed in St. John's in an Ice Storm on Sunday night (quite a change from watching warblers in shorts in New York that morning), scraped the ice of my rental car windshield, and drove through driving hail and freezing rain to the Marriott in St. John's Harbor. &nbsp;Next morning, after clearing a thin layer of snow (!) off the car (and wondering exactly what possessed me to do this), I pulled up to Jared's driveway at 7:15am, and headed off to look for a troika of rare Eurasian shorebirds, all of which would be new for my ABA list.<br /><br />First stop was Cochrane Pond Road in Goulds, just South of St. John's. &nbsp;We pulled up to a field that was full of oddly shaped brown lumps ... cow pies? &nbsp;No, they were EUROPEAN GOLDEN PLOVERS, lots of them. &nbsp;We guessed that there were about 60 of them hunkered down in the field, but later we got some decent looks and got some (distant but diagnostic) photos. &nbsp;First ABA birds of the trip, and it took seconds after getting bins out of the bag .... this was looking promising.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kOsR51IyhGA/U3PApOAbD4I/AAAAAAAABww/4CLARbZvC0Q/s1600/IMG_5144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kOsR51IyhGA/U3PApOAbD4I/AAAAAAAABww/4CLARbZvC0Q/s1600/IMG_5144.JPG" height="200" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Cow-pies' turned out to be 60-ish European Golden Plovers hunkered down in a field <br />(with a diagnostic ID shot&nbsp;down below). &nbsp;A bird that is annual in Newfoundland but <br />which arrived in unprecedented&nbsp;numbers this Spring.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q4nbK02Q6Jk/U3PAsHfa7iI/AAAAAAAABw4/N_Vuoas0IY0/s1600/IMG_5172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q4nbK02Q6Jk/U3PAsHfa7iI/AAAAAAAABw4/N_Vuoas0IY0/s1600/IMG_5172.JPG" height="251" width="400" /></a></div><br />So that was easy! &nbsp;And so, after trying to get closer via a couple of different roads (and failing), we decided to head off to look for the next target - after all, these birds could leave at any minute, the pressure was on. <br /><br />Next stop was Third Pond in Goulds, where we walked across a race track (horses) to overlook a nice marsh and lake. &nbsp;The target here was BLACK-TAILED GODWIT and there had been up to three of them the week before. &nbsp;At least one of the godwits was supposed to be lingering and we learned that it had been seen that morning although the bird was apparently distant and being seen on the other side of the lake. &nbsp;Setting up scopes, we scanned and .... no godwit. &nbsp;So we just hunkered down in the cold and kept scanning the area where the bird had been seen earlier that day (left of the plastic bucket apparently). &nbsp;After ten minutes, Jared, who'd borrowed my scope, got the bird and pulled me over to the eye-piece. &nbsp;It was a good job he did because the bird, which was frequenting a small muddy area of field that was largely obscured from us, wandered out for a minute or so then turned around and drifted back out of sight. &nbsp;No photos, but decent views, and a very spiffy breeding-plumage Black-tailed Godwit joined the list ... ABA bird number two.<br /><br />OK, so two quick ABA birds and time to drive South for the star bird, North America's third record of COMMON REDSHANK (although the records each involved multiple birds) which had been hanging out at Renews, about an hour South of where we were, for the past week or so. &nbsp;So back in the car and off we went, luck definitely seemed to be on our side.<br /><br />An hour later, we pulled up to the 'Redshank spot' where another local guide (Dave Brown?) and his client had scopes set up by the side of the road. &nbsp;We jumped out expecting the redshank, but it turns out that it wasn't there and they were just watching the worlds tamest Northern Wheatear (not exactly a bad bird though).<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oxZYDCX7xzc/U3PIcM8jaQI/AAAAAAAABxE/Qe0mO_AtLV0/s1600/IMG_5195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oxZYDCX7xzc/U3PIcM8jaQI/AAAAAAAABxE/Qe0mO_AtLV0/s1600/IMG_5195.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The world's tamest Northern Wheatear (2 shots)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vPk8BDqZ6lM/U3PIeswkFnI/AAAAAAAABxM/jCy-CcJtnl0/s1600/IMG_5313.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vPk8BDqZ6lM/U3PIeswkFnI/AAAAAAAABxM/jCy-CcJtnl0/s1600/IMG_5313.JPG" height="296" width="400" /></a></div><br />Nice bird, but not what we were there for, so while I photographed the wheatear, Jared wandered along the beach and within minutes, a shout and excited waving alerted us to the fact that he had 'the bird'. &nbsp;The Common Redshank turned out to be equally confiding and allowed decent photos. &nbsp;This is a bird that breeds near my parents' house in Wales and one which I saw daily growing up, but here in North America it did in fact seem very special. &nbsp;ABA bird number 3. &nbsp;Mission accomplished ....<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NoJC1ZEsxVU/U3PJRb5ROUI/AAAAAAAABxU/JE43nar4wzc/s1600/IMG_5375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NoJC1ZEsxVU/U3PJRb5ROUI/AAAAAAAABxU/JE43nar4wzc/s1600/IMG_5375.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Common Redshank - ABA 'Code 5' and a very special bird in North America.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HYWVpD2Xn9E/U3PJU1sqMHI/AAAAAAAABxc/U2UUX8BtvMo/s1600/IMG_5269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HYWVpD2Xn9E/U3PJU1sqMHI/AAAAAAAABxc/U2UUX8BtvMo/s1600/IMG_5269.JPG" height="276" width="400" /></a></div><br />So by 10:45am, we had all three target birds and Dave's client was on the phone changing his flights and canceling his hotels so he could go home early (he apparently had no intention of actually birding on this trip - he was shown his ABA birds and was done). &nbsp;I had a day and a half left before my scheduled return flight however, and I really wanted to go birding. &nbsp;Newfoundland was spectacular and I really wanted to get to know it better, see some more birds, and maybe even find a few more things (the locals were convinced that there was a European Oystercatcher out there somewhere).<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tI6OT0LTdAw/U3PKTDLKkrI/AAAAAAAABxk/kymLITrdzw8/s1600/IMG_5177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tI6OT0LTdAw/U3PKTDLKkrI/AAAAAAAABxk/kymLITrdzw8/s1600/IMG_5177.JPG" height="251" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We don't get a lot of icebergs in New York ... as I said, Newfoundland was different<br />and spectacularly scenic.</td></tr></tbody></table>So with an afternoon 'at leisure' we decided to bird Cape Race, dragging Dave's reluctant client along with us. &nbsp;We saw some really cool things - 3 Snowy Owls, Glaucous and Iceland Gulls, Black Guillimots, Razorbills and Common Murres, two Pomarine Jaegers, another Northern Wheatear, and even a dead Sperm Whale. &nbsp;A really nice afternoon of birding in spectacular scenery.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VkXTjadTR6Y/U3PLGM4xVKI/AAAAAAAABxs/_TcciaybvZA/s1600/IMG_5330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VkXTjadTR6Y/U3PLGM4xVKI/AAAAAAAABxs/_TcciaybvZA/s1600/IMG_5330.JPG" height="276" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of three Snowy Owls at Cape Race ... the last of the biggest invasion in<br />living memory.</td></tr></tbody></table>On the way back to St. John's we even added some Gray Jays, a few Merlins, and (even though we were too early for Atlantic Puffins and Nothern Fulmars), enjoyed some great birding in some spectacular spots.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jADQxALP3_A/U3PLlPzPG_I/AAAAAAAABx0/_30a07KjP4Y/s1600/IMG_5348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jADQxALP3_A/U3PLlPzPG_I/AAAAAAAABx0/_30a07KjP4Y/s1600/IMG_5348.JPG" height="326" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Afternoon birding highlights (for me anyway) included Gray Jays and Ruffed<br />Grouse.&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nQMA7OWMy54/U3PLnZUEmaI/AAAAAAAABx8/cEqE1d0O2lA/s1600/IMG_5425.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nQMA7OWMy54/U3PLnZUEmaI/AAAAAAAABx8/cEqE1d0O2lA/s1600/IMG_5425.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div><br />By the time I dropped Jared off at his home and wound my way back to the hotel I was exhausted (and realized that I hadn't eaten anything all day) but I'd had a great day of birding, 3 ABA birds, multiple year birds, and a really good time. &nbsp;Local lobster for dinner, a few cocktails, and an early night. &nbsp;Great day ...<br /><br />Postscript: &nbsp;the Black-tailed Godwit was not seen again after Monday (I looked twice on Tuesday but didn't see it). &nbsp;The Common Redshank also apparently departed either on Tuesday or Wednesday as an extensive search by Alvan Buckley and Neil Hayward (of record ABA Big-year fame) also came up blank despite many hours of searching on Wednesday. &nbsp;Seems I got there just in the nick of time ....Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-37816635522610272142014-05-04T14:38:00.000-04:002014-05-07T16:34:01.459-04:00Central Park .... Real Spring At Last.A great weekend of birding in Central Park, including 20 species of Warbler.<br /><br />So I changed my plans this weekend. &nbsp;The original plan was to drive North to Vermont for the Garganey (an ABA bird) on Saturday but a change of weather on Friday allowed the duck to move on and also produced a real influx of migrants locally. &nbsp;So instead of driving hundred of miles I decided to stay close to home an just bird in Central Park.<br /><br />The Park in May is, truth be told, a bit of a circus. &nbsp;Birders can sometimes outnumber birds and the already large cadre of New York City birders are supplemented by visitors, bird walks, and a huge number of birders who really only come out to look for warblers in the Spring. &nbsp;There's a lot of bad ID's, a lot of chatting and socializing, and huge crowds form when a good bird is seen. &nbsp;It's not for the faint of heart - Isaac Grant says it's like birding at the zoo - but if you can deal with the birders, there are also lots of good birds.<br /><br />Friday was promising, lots of new migrants arrived, and after last year's 'nonslaught' where weather stalled migration for weeks it was obvious that the weekend would be very birdy. &nbsp;So I spent two long (7 hour) mornings in the Park and saw a total of 79 species in the small (less than a square mile) wooded area called The Ramble where most birders tend to congregate, and most birds tend to be seen. &nbsp;Birded with various people including Christian Copper (famous for swearing at a Blackburnian Warbler in the the movie Birders, the Central Park Effect), Morgan Tingley and Ryan Walker. &nbsp;A pretty good weekend. &nbsp;Here are some of the highlights in photos:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w-gIHP4zrvU/U2aC8f0wDpI/AAAAAAAABvM/swuooLVMy7Q/s1600/IMG_4760.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w-gIHP4zrvU/U2aC8f0wDpI/AAAAAAAABvM/swuooLVMy7Q/s1600/IMG_4760.JPG" height="285" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scarlet Tanger - lots of these around, plus a single Summer Tanager.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HdRUm7jN1A4/U2aC-mvchuI/AAAAAAAABvU/AOpoFPtyZ9I/s1600/IMG_4764.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HdRUm7jN1A4/U2aC-mvchuI/AAAAAAAABvU/AOpoFPtyZ9I/s1600/IMG_4764.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northern Waterthush - maybe a dozen or more of these in damp spots around the Park.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sjr6Nowgz58/U2aDA2Fb_fI/AAAAAAAABvc/kNtUw_Yzs8I/s1600/IMG_4808.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sjr6Nowgz58/U2aDA2Fb_fI/AAAAAAAABvc/kNtUw_Yzs8I/s1600/IMG_4808.JPG" height="292" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prairie Warbler</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9_6YbbQV_kI/U2aDDRBTrbI/AAAAAAAABvk/aP4iUoLE4TU/s1600/IMG_4860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9_6YbbQV_kI/U2aDDRBTrbI/AAAAAAAABvk/aP4iUoLE4TU/s1600/IMG_4860.JPG" height="262" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rose-breasted Grosbeak</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n6XH16t-itU/U2aDFzDbF_I/AAAAAAAABvs/5809SN44Pdk/s1600/IMG_4892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n6XH16t-itU/U2aDFzDbF_I/AAAAAAAABvs/5809SN44Pdk/s1600/IMG_4892.JPG" height="256" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Indigo Bunting (above) and the crowd looking at the Indigo Bunting (below).<br />Yep, that whole crowd was just for an Indigo Bunting - pretty trumps rare in<br />Central Park in the Spring.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5oMbN1MDnDY/U2aDHrQUUGI/AAAAAAAABv0/XdEjG0-HqWs/s1600/IMG_2498.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5oMbN1MDnDY/U2aDHrQUUGI/AAAAAAAABv0/XdEjG0-HqWs/s1600/IMG_2498.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></div><br />In all I think 25 species of warbler were seen in the Park this weekend (I only saw 20). &nbsp;Spent most of Sunday looking for a Kentucky Warbler (other parks in NYC got them this weekend but we didn't) but in the end had to settle for Hooded and Worm-eating Warblers, although Black-billed Cuckoo, Lincoln's Sparrow, and Yellow-throated Vireo were also worth an honorable mention.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0v1ldG4OXaE/U2aDJedjnbI/AAAAAAAABv8/DygcCunmzms/s1600/IMG_4899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0v1ldG4OXaE/U2aDJedjnbI/AAAAAAAABv8/DygcCunmzms/s1600/IMG_4899.JPG" height="283" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hooded Warbler - male (above) and female (below)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z7yP6HJ-zqs/U2aDLXz9IqI/AAAAAAAABwE/SDcJzs0DTHs/s1600/IMG_4962.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z7yP6HJ-zqs/U2aDLXz9IqI/AAAAAAAABwE/SDcJzs0DTHs/s1600/IMG_4962.JPG" height="268" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oZUR4jaomxQ/U2aDNgZpHvI/AAAAAAAABwM/zX6m5TJ4Wzs/s1600/IMG_4979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oZUR4jaomxQ/U2aDNgZpHvI/AAAAAAAABwM/zX6m5TJ4Wzs/s1600/IMG_4979.JPG" height="256" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue-winged Warbler</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yspgvR7ydFw/U2aDPKApdxI/AAAAAAAABwU/9AWBzq_1pAc/s1600/IMG_4998.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yspgvR7ydFw/U2aDPKApdxI/AAAAAAAABwU/9AWBzq_1pAc/s1600/IMG_4998.JPG" height="280" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Worm-eating Warbler - one of three I saw this weekend (2 shots).</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RJ05JzVvxys/U2aDRD4sJLI/AAAAAAAABwc/_wQ7jUIlnJE/s1600/IMG_5037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RJ05JzVvxys/U2aDRD4sJLI/AAAAAAAABwc/_wQ7jUIlnJE/s1600/IMG_5037.JPG" height="277" width="400" /></a></div><br />The birders were also entertaining. &nbsp;I saw plenty of mis-IDs including Prothonatory Warbler (Yellow Warbler - although there was a real one I missed), Connecticut Warbler (Nashville Warbler), and Philadelphia Vireo (Warbling Vireo). &nbsp;I also saw raised voices over the use of tape and flash photography. &nbsp;As I said, the Park in Spring is quite a scene, but in the end the birds were good and (almost) everyone was happy to just soak them up for a few days. &nbsp;Let's hope it stays this good for the next few weeks ....<br /><br />Update: &nbsp;of course, once I left the Park someone did in fact find a Kentucky Warbler, subsequently seen by many other birders. &nbsp;Have to learn to be more patient I guess ....<br /><br /><br /><br />Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7056308 -73.978003540.3204428 -74.6234505 41.0908188 -73.3325565tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-58619606460567375742014-04-28T19:53:00.000-04:002014-04-28T19:54:34.388-04:00April Weekend in Tucson (Part 2)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>A day in the Chiricahuas chasing a Redstart<br /><br />So having picked up the Rufous-capped Warbler and the Sinaloa Wren we were at first not sure what to do on Saturday. &nbsp;As luck would have it though word got out that someone had found a Slate-throated Redstart at Cave Creek Canyon on Friday. &nbsp;This was a target worth chasing and would have been an ABA bird for both Rich Hoyer and for me. &nbsp;The only problem with Slate-throated Redstarts is that they almost always tend to be short-staying, usually one-day-wonders, but if we had to chase and miss a star bird we couldn't think of a better place to do it. &nbsp;Cave Creek Canyon is one of the best birding spots in the US, and a personal favorite that I fell in love with when I first visited it 22 years ago. &nbsp;It was a long drive but definitely worth the risk, so another 4am start and I picked up Rich and headed out of Tucson to the SouthEast en route to the Chiricahuas.<br /><br />After stopping to get provisions (we were committed to a stake-out) we pulled into the parking lot at around 8am and headed up the South Fork of Cave Creek Canyon. &nbsp;The initial intel was good and we bumped into birders who had seen the Redstart on Friday afternoon, meaning it had stuck around for the whole day. &nbsp;Reality set in soon enough though as we got to the area of the sightings and met more birders who had been looking since dawn and not seen the bird. &nbsp;Still, we're both optimists so we plugged away at the canyon, birding hard for the next five hours hoping that this Redstart at least was stickier than it's kin.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CchfmnF3B0U/U17doSwmmRI/AAAAAAAABts/_Z0vG90ghsM/s1600/IMG_4491.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CchfmnF3B0U/U17doSwmmRI/AAAAAAAABts/_Z0vG90ghsM/s1600/IMG_4491.JPG" height="347" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elegant Trogon - a star bird here, in fact most of the birders we met that day<br />were looking for Trogons and not for the Redstart.</td></tr></tbody></table>Even though the Redstart was not cooperating, the birding was really very good. &nbsp;We worked several large mixed flocks that had multiple warbler species (Hermit, Townsend's Black-throated Gray, Red-faced, Grace's and lots of Painted Redstarts) and had great looks at Elegant Trogon, Arizona Woodpecker, Mexican Jay, White-throated Swifts and even an Olive-sided Flycatcher. &nbsp;All really good stuff.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i5R9kQ9G7Zc/U17eyWDj7qI/AAAAAAAABt8/xTo_C062Hl0/s1600/IMG_4521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i5R9kQ9G7Zc/U17eyWDj7qI/AAAAAAAABt8/xTo_C062Hl0/s1600/IMG_4521.JPG" height="292" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Painted Redstart - or 'Wrongstart' &nbsp;as I took to calling it by the afternoon.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JYf_qDB_PMQ/U17fFLjR8dI/AAAAAAAABuE/yFl90pRIUhg/s1600/IMG_4520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JYf_qDB_PMQ/U17fFLjR8dI/AAAAAAAABuE/yFl90pRIUhg/s1600/IMG_4520.JPG" height="262" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gray-headed Dark-eyed Junco - one of those Western Juncos we don't get to<br />see in New York.</td></tr></tbody></table>Hummingbirds were also in great form with Magnificent, Black-chinned and Broad-tailed all zipping about. &nbsp;Overall we had 44 species within about a mile of the trail head - as I said, it's a really neat spot - but unfortunately none of them was a Slate-throated Redstart which turned out to be another one-day-wonder and thus true to it's kind. &nbsp;Can't win them all ....<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ygIiArrCqIY/U17fIXug3oI/AAAAAAAABuM/C6b2wYyc_Ss/s1600/IMG_4586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ygIiArrCqIY/U17fIXug3oI/AAAAAAAABuM/C6b2wYyc_Ss/s1600/IMG_4586.JPG" height="293" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Magnificent Hummingbird</td></tr></tbody></table>Perhaps the highlight of the morning though wasn't avian but rather two really special snakes that we found on the trail not far from each other. &nbsp;The first was a large Black-tailed Rattlesnake, coiled and rattling by the side of the trail. &nbsp;Then shortly afterwards we bumped into a truly beautiful Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake, a lifer for me, and certainly a memory that will make up for the Redstart dip.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YnCcXEqlXgU/U17iiaG3iNI/AAAAAAAABuU/1KjyD4dexNk/s1600/IMG_4545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YnCcXEqlXgU/U17iiaG3iNI/AAAAAAAABuU/1KjyD4dexNk/s1600/IMG_4545.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black-tailed Rattlesnake - not as close as it looks, I had my 300mm lens on.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RxFPqRuYrG4/U17in-ZjfAI/AAAAAAAABuc/0_P92jkgCNg/s1600/photo-5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RxFPqRuYrG4/U17in-ZjfAI/AAAAAAAABuc/0_P92jkgCNg/s1600/photo-5.JPG" height="383" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake - Rich Hoyer is the hand-model.</td></tr></tbody></table>So finally admitting defeat, and pausing only to catch up with old friend (former WINGS office manger and private bird trip organizing genius from my more rabid days) Greer Warren, we gave up and headed out over the top of the Chiricahua Range hoping to add a few more things on the way home. &nbsp;The drive added a Zone-tailed Hawk, Stellar's Jays, Pygmy Nuthatches, Yellow-eyed Juncos and a spiffy 'Gould's' turkey (who knew turkeys could have so much white on them?). &nbsp;We also got a lucky break when some Border Patrol agents pulled a fallen tree off the road in front of us - if they hadn't we would have had to retrace out steps and add another couple of hours to our drive home. &nbsp;Soon enough we were back down in the desert and saying farewell to the magic mountains (note to self: come back soon).<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jJVHMGWGfpQ/U17lESf3KBI/AAAAAAAABuo/oKoU7aLkZ5E/s1600/IMG_4618.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jJVHMGWGfpQ/U17lESf3KBI/AAAAAAAABuo/oKoU7aLkZ5E/s1600/IMG_4618.JPG" height="297" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yellow-eyed Junco</td></tr></tbody></table>Faced with another three-hour drive back to Tucson we decided to break it with a stop to look for water birds in Wilcox and were rewarded with a great selection, and 31 species, including shorebirds, Franklin's and Bonaparte's Gulls, Eared and Western Grebes, and lots of swallows. &nbsp;A little drama was added when a Swainson's Hawk blindsided a Peregrine and stole it's prey item right in front of us, plus we got a little intrigue when we saw a Barn Swallow with pure white undersides (couldn't be, right? Cough). &nbsp; Then back on the interstate and, after dropping Rich off, back to the hotel, and finally a night without a 4am start to follow ... shower ... room-service ... movie ... 8-hours of sleep ... priceless.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kCC18Ys6Els/U17lw81l6GI/AAAAAAAABuw/5L-Q_DURX8k/s1600/IMG_4663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kCC18Ys6Els/U17lw81l6GI/AAAAAAAABuw/5L-Q_DURX8k/s1600/IMG_4663.JPG" height="223" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Long-billed Dowitchers - a good bird in the East, but easier here.</td></tr></tbody></table>So that was that for Arizona, a great trip with 142 species, 3 ABA birds, and a Lifer Snake - we could have seen more bird species if we weren't so target focussed, but I was really happy with my two-day haul of birds I don't get to see often any more. &nbsp;Many thanks to Rich for the eyes, the ears, and the snake-wrangling. &nbsp;I definitely won't leave it so long before going back again.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7056308 -73.978003540.3204428 -74.6234505 41.0908188 -73.3325565tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-50105405018004997132014-04-28T15:44:00.001-04:002014-04-28T18:43:16.846-04:00April Weekend in Tucson (Part 1)Chasing some potential ABA birds near Tucson<br /><br />For once my business life and my birding life came together nicely this weekend when a Board meeting in Phoenix on Thursday gave me the opportunity to do a couple of days birding in SE Arizona over the weekend (schedules never work out this well). <br /><br />4am on Friday morning and I was up and on my way from Phoenix to Tucson with no plans but birding for the next few days. &nbsp;By 6:30am I'd picked up long-time birding friend Rich Hoyer at his house in Tucson and we were soon on our way to chase down some special birds in the canyons South of the city. &nbsp;I was very excited to get back to bird some sites I hadn't visited in ten years and had a couple of target birds I really wanted to get.<br /><br />First stop was Florida Canyon (pronounced Flor-ee-da) and we went straight up to the canyon proper passing quickly through desert habitat that had yielded a lot of life birds for me the first time I came here in 1993. &nbsp;No time for thorough birding today though as we had two target birds that I really wanted to see and the first of them, Rufous-capped Warbler, had been seen recently up in the canyon. So we pushed on past Rufous-winged and Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Phainopeplas, Lucy's Warblers and other desert birds until we got to the parking lot and started our hike.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W_NfVyZHtQ4/U16hc2rC7tI/AAAAAAAABsk/xNwSMC6-Udw/s1600/IMG_4434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W_NfVyZHtQ4/U16hc2rC7tI/AAAAAAAABsk/xNwSMC6-Udw/s1600/IMG_4434.JPG" height="303" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hutton's Vireo - one of five species of vireo we saw to heard over the weekend<br />(the others being Cassin's, Plumbeous, Bell's and 'Western' Warbling)</td></tr></tbody></table>Florida Canyon is a very special place with rough trails winding up through dense scrub along a tiny stream that surfaces then vanishes many times in the space of a mile or so. &nbsp;The canyon is narrow and the scrub-covered canyon sides are relatively steep. &nbsp;Perfect habitat for the warbler which likes both the steep scrubby slopes and permanent water nearby. <br /><br />The canyon was really birdy this morning and was we picked our way up we saw or heard a lot of birds. &nbsp;Migrant flycatchers were very much in evidence with Pacific Slope, Dusky and Hammond's all vocalizing along with resident Northern Beardless Tyrannulet, Dusky-capped and Ash-throated Flycatchers. &nbsp;There were also five species of wren (Rock, Canyon, House, Bewicks's and Cactus), lots of warblers, tanagers, orioles, etc., and even a fly-over migrant Townsend's Solitaire. &nbsp;It would have been a wonderful morning of birding even without the target birds, but we were focussed and kept pushing up the canyon with our goal in mind.<br /><br />Eventually, after passing through the area where the birds had most recently been seen (the lower territory?) we heard a really promising chip note and, after a bit of urgent scanning, found a pair of Rufous-capped Warblers on the slope across the stream. &nbsp;They really are quite spiffy little birds and we watched them for 10 minutes as they flitted around in the dense scrub. &nbsp;There are perhaps three pairs in the canyon, and perhaps a few other birds (pairs) in a couple of other canyons scattered across S.E.Arizona, and that is the total US population, definitely a scarce bird in the US. &nbsp;Target number one down and so off again to search for the bird that I most wanted for the weekend.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lqUPSsVpq_o/U16mLe8gbKI/AAAAAAAABs4/S_oCiDQWIQM/s1600/IMG_4464.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lqUPSsVpq_o/U16mLe8gbKI/AAAAAAAABs4/S_oCiDQWIQM/s1600/IMG_4464.JPG" height="256" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rufous-capped Warbler. &nbsp;The first one I'd seen North of the Mexican border.</td></tr></tbody></table>So after stopping to chat with Ken and Suzy Feustel (friends from Long Island who we bumped into in the parking lot), next stop was a stakeout near Tubac where a Sinaloa Wren had been regularly seen in recent weeks along a pretty strip of riparian woodland along the San Pedro River. &nbsp;I'd watched daily eBird rare bird reports on this species all Winter and I really wanted to see this bird (like last month's LaSagra's Flycatcher which lured me to Florida). &nbsp;We had good directions and quickly found "the spot" next to the power-cut where the bird was apparently regularly seen. &nbsp;It was supposed to be a "gimme" and we were hoping for a quick sighting and actually started making plans for what to do next. &nbsp;Of course, needless to say nearly three hours later we were still staring into the leaf-litter and had seen nothing more promising than a Bewick's Wren. &nbsp;Oh well, time for Plan B.<br /><br />So an hour or so of driving later we were handing our ID's the the uniformed soldier at the gate of Fort Huachuca (US Citizens only!) and then wended our way through the fort to spot where a second Sinaloa Wren had been heard, but not seen, recently. &nbsp;When we arrived at the spot the news was not good; two birders from Nebraska were staking out the site and hadn't seen the bird in an hour or so. &nbsp;Still, not being people to stand around and wait, Rich and I split up and started working downstream trying to find the bird for ourselves and, not five minutes later, Rich yelled that he had the bird.<br /><br />Rushing over I followed directions and saw a small brown shape working through dense underbrush towards the stream. &nbsp;I had a choice at this moment, bins or camera? &nbsp;I chose bins and got a great look as the bird popped out into the open. &nbsp;I also really regretted the choice as, by the time I got my camera ready, the bird was back in the dense scrub and, despite an hour of trying and plenty of glimpses of the bird, I never did get a clear photo.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_xyiEKyOmMU/U16pjDhQJkI/AAAAAAAABtE/kb_eTuUbIFY/s1600/IMG_4475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_xyiEKyOmMU/U16pjDhQJkI/AAAAAAAABtE/kb_eTuUbIFY/s1600/IMG_4475.JPG" height="268" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two of the worst photos of Sinaloa Wren ever published - expert photographer<br />I am not ....</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eu0-JA3EsQU/U16pk1ZW1PI/AAAAAAAABtM/mdHzV9z2szI/s1600/IMG_4476.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eu0-JA3EsQU/U16pk1ZW1PI/AAAAAAAABtM/mdHzV9z2szI/s1600/IMG_4476.JPG" height="273" width="400" /></a></div><br />Luckily, Rich was luckier (or more skilled) with his point-and-shoot camera and got at least one decent shot. &nbsp;I was thrilled either way though having got the bird I really wanted for the weekend (plus a real rarity in the US, and a second ABA bird). &nbsp;Happy but exhausted we raced back to Tucson where I dropped Rich off and headed to my hotel to grab a few hours sleep before an early start to chase a Painted Redstart that had been found that day in another part of the state. &nbsp;Last bird of the day for me was a Common Poorwill at dusk at my hotel (the J.W.Marriott at Starr Pass). &nbsp;Perfect end to a very good day of birding.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i8Lfw3Ih6tg/U16qV8Sbk3I/AAAAAAAABtY/4sRbwRY210I/s1600/photo-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i8Lfw3Ih6tg/U16qV8Sbk3I/AAAAAAAABtY/4sRbwRY210I/s1600/photo-4.JPG" height="285" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sinaloa Wren - Photo: Rich Hoyer (Used with Permission)</td></tr></tbody></table>As a postscript, a funny thing happened while I was watching the wren that day. &nbsp;After finally getting some (not so amazing) photos I stepped back to take a break and felt my phone buzzing in my pocket. &nbsp;It was Corey Finger texting me saying "Ptarmigan on Sunday?" which truly confused me. &nbsp;My Facebook status said I was in Phoenix but did he think I was in Colorado? &nbsp;Had he sent a text to the wrong person? &nbsp;After a few minutes I texted back that I had plans to look for Slate-throated Redstart on Sunday, which I thought would clear up the confusion. &nbsp;In response Corey texted "Boo" and now I was really confused. &nbsp;I asked where he was to be looking for Ptarmigan ... Colorado? &nbsp;And he told me that a Willow Ptarmigan had just been found in New York State ... only the second ever in the lower 48 (!) . &nbsp;Ho hum ... can't get them all (the bird did not stick around to wait for me to come back) .... but you can read about Corey's adventure (complete with encounters with New York State Troopers)<a href="http://10000birds.com/willow-ptarmigan-in-jefferson-county-new-york.htm" target="_blank">&nbsp;at 10,000 Birds here.</a>Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7143528 -74.005973140.3291648 -74.65142010000001 41.0995408 -73.3605261tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-1116774939909982472014-04-28T14:10:00.001-04:002014-04-28T14:10:54.333-04:00Photospot: Rosy-faced Lovebird in PhoenixHad a few spare hours in Phoenix this weekend so decided to see if I could track down some Rosy-faced Lovebirds now that they've officially been added to the ABA list. &nbsp;The population is apparently doing very well with over 2,500 birds in the Phoenix area. &nbsp;They were also supposed to be relatively easy to see and the on-line directions sent me to Encanto Park, a landscaped little green space with picnic tables, fishing lakes, and lots of people. &nbsp;Nevertheless the birds were very cooperative and I heard some within 10 minutes of getting to the park. &nbsp;Spend a half hour watching them fly around, squabble with starlings, and perch in a variety of different types of trees. &nbsp;A pleasant way to spend a half an hour and nice addition to my ABA list.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-anDR1mN3NkE/U16Xtg_H3AI/AAAAAAAABsE/FL8JharK6tM/s1600/IMG_4710.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-anDR1mN3NkE/U16Xtg_H3AI/AAAAAAAABsE/FL8JharK6tM/s1600/IMG_4710.JPG" height="290" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rosy-faced Lovebird (3 shots)</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cCRtQyOoZ6o/U16XwUnKmWI/AAAAAAAABsM/wLsiy_TzffI/s1600/IMG_4684.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cCRtQyOoZ6o/U16XwUnKmWI/AAAAAAAABsM/wLsiy_TzffI/s1600/IMG_4684.JPG" height="310" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Lovebirds seemed to be returning to the same palm regularly and chasing<br />European Starlings around - competition for nest cavities?</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cxhdj3mWS44/U16XygfgwCI/AAAAAAAABsU/YUd7APP8S5w/s1600/IMG_4735.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cxhdj3mWS44/U16XygfgwCI/AAAAAAAABsU/YUd7APP8S5w/s1600/IMG_4735.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></div><br />Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7143528 -74.005973140.3291648 -74.65142010000001 41.0995408 -73.3605261tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-84342151463859185652014-03-23T17:47:00.000-04:002014-03-23T18:15:35.717-04:00New York's Fake SpringBirds from Urban Manhattan at the very start of Spring ....<br /><br />So March is a trying time for birders. &nbsp;The temperatures start to warm, precocious Spring flowers poke up through the grass, bold trees start to think about budding, and there's a hint ... just a hint ... of migration. &nbsp;Birders can feel Spring in the air and pour out of their 'cabins' (well you can go 'cabin-crazy' in an apartment too, and the average New York City apartment isn't all that much bigger than a cabin) and start birding like its mid May. &nbsp;You can almost taste the warbler song to come, or feel the flood of migrants on their way. &nbsp; But we do have a (long ... painful ... frustrating ...) month to wait, and the forecast is for more snow next week. &nbsp;Early signs of Spring are just a tease, and this weekend we got plenty of them ... just enough to make sure that next week's scheduled snow storm will be doubly frustrating.<br /><br />Spent a few hours in Central Park both days this weekend. &nbsp;I was trapped in the City by work and a broken Range Rover that had to go to the car doctor (urban cars take a beating - provided in part this time by a homeless guy with a tire-iron). &nbsp;I did manage to clear two mornings for the Park though and put in a bit of effort to see as much of the 'pre-migration' as I could.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S0kebwYxrk4/Uy9WExEY1yI/AAAAAAAABrI/cVGkgmQElME/s3200/4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S0kebwYxrk4/Uy9WExEY1yI/AAAAAAAABrI/cVGkgmQElME/s3200/4.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baltimore Oriole - Central Park, New York County, NY (March 2014)<br />Photo: Ryan Walker (used with permission)</td></tr></tbody></table>Saturday was actually quite balmy and I went in early with hopes of seeing an American Woodcock (there had been many reported) and a Rusty Blackbird (at least one had been seen the week before). &nbsp;I started near the Tupelo Field and almost immediately flushed a woodcock, getting no more than the traditional split-second, corner of an eye view. &nbsp;Still, it was a year-bird and I was sure I'd see more. &nbsp;I worked The Ramble for a couple more hours, enjoying the relatively mild (it actually wasn't snowing for once) temperatures and did come up with a few things. &nbsp;A Swamp Sparrow was a year bird, and I did get a look at one of the two over-wintering Baltimore Orioles, but I never did come up with another woodcock and couldn't turn up a Rusty Blackbird despite checking all the likely spots. &nbsp;The highlight of the day was an abundance of (Red) Fox Sparrows with several singing birds and a dozen or more hanging out at various spots around The Ramble. &nbsp;After flogging the area, I decided to give up and go to look for the Red-necked Grebe that had been hanging out on the reservoir. &nbsp;Red-necked Grebe is a good bird for New York City and this one was the first one seen in Central Park in perhaps thirty years. &nbsp;I have the vaguest recollection of seeing one on the Hudson River back in the early '90s but my eBird records from back them as patchy and this promised to be a county bird in eBird. &nbsp;The reservoir unfortunately was now un-frozen so, while folks last week had seen the bird at point-blank range in one of the few ice-free patches on the reservoir, I had to make do with super-distant views across the water. &nbsp;The bird was described as 'transitional plumage' but it looked like a drab Winter bird to me, still I was glad to see it (and officially add it to the county list). &nbsp;So I declared victory and headed off to do grown-up things ...<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TLjMY2bdWbk/Uy9VfxeHqtI/AAAAAAAABq8/_zn80mWZ_jY/s3200/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TLjMY2bdWbk/Uy9VfxeHqtI/AAAAAAAABq8/_zn80mWZ_jY/s3200/2.jpg" height="257" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">American Woodcock - Central Park, New York County, NY (March 2014)<br />Photo: Ryan Walker (used with permission)</td></tr></tbody></table>Sunday was colder ... there was a storm coming and it felt very much like a Winter day with the promise of (the forecast) snow to come. &nbsp; I got to the Park later than the day before but was almost immediately rewarded with a 'migrant' when I came across an Eastern Phoebe hawking for (microscopic) insects on the fence-line near one of the lawns. &nbsp;Not long afterwards I did find a 'sitting' woodcock after an hour of scanning likely fenced-in spots (spots without fences are hopeless due to the army of dog-walkers who run their dogs through The Ramble every morning - yes, there's a leash-law, yes it's ignored) and sent a text to Ryan Walker who I knew really wanted to see one. &nbsp;American Woodcock is perhaps one of my favorite North American birds - charismatic, cryptic, and comedic, especially when walking like a little clockwork toy - simply an awesome critter. &nbsp;I simply never tire of them but eventually I pulled myself away, mostly worried about drawing too much attention to this bird for fear of others flushing it. &nbsp;So on to 'the feeders' to see what was around while I waited for Ryan to come in to the park. &nbsp;Central Park has a huge feeder operation; hardly a surprise for a city so stuffed with birders - there are probably more birders within a mile of Central Park than live in the average US state. &nbsp;The dedicated volunteers put out quite a smorgasbord, filling tubes, coconut feeders, traditional feeders, and 'schmeering' suet and seeds on trees and on the ground. &nbsp;Of course this gathers a good selection of birds and today everything cooperated. &nbsp;In no time I'd seen a Pine Warbler, two Baltimore Orioles, a couple of Brown Creepers, and a Carolina Wren, in addition to the more traditional feeder birds. &nbsp;Several tourists (they didn't have bins) came over to ask about the 'orange birds' and I have to admit, it is quite a spectacle. &nbsp;Many thanks to the dedicated volunteers who keep it going.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LT24Ohcphmc/Uy9VHNKdbCI/AAAAAAAABq0/A8G5_H5tXvg/s3200/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LT24Ohcphmc/Uy9VHNKdbCI/AAAAAAAABq0/A8G5_H5tXvg/s3200/3.jpg" height="277" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pine Warbler - Central Park, New York County, NY (March 2014)<br />Photo: Ryan Walker (used with permission)</td></tr></tbody></table>Getting cold, and running out of time, I waited to make sure that Ryan got his American Woodcock and Pine Warbler before leaving for the office. &nbsp; Luckily though, my 2pm call got moved to 5pm, so after a few hours I was able to come back and add Black-Crowned Night-Heron at the South end of the Park before heading back to the reservoir for another look at the Red-necked Grebe (yep, definitely a second bird) and a rare (for Central Park) American Wigeon. &nbsp;Not a bad haul of birds for March. &nbsp;Please let Spring come soon, this Winter has been way, way too long ....Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7143528 -74.005973140.3291648 -74.65142010000001 41.0995408 -73.3605261tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401367245242700938.post-36493777370797809052014-03-17T19:07:00.000-04:002014-07-06T18:46:54.872-04:00Suburban Miami for ABA Birds and Exotics (Part 2)More suburban Miami birding.<br /><br />SATURDAY (continued)<br /><br />From the Strip Malls in the morning to 'Disney Birding' in the afternoon ... at least that's what Carlos said.<br /><br />Having hit our targets in the morning in suburban Miami we headed North into Palm Beach County in the afternoon. &nbsp;There was actually an ABA bird for me to chase there, the recently accepted Nanday Parakeet, but we also planned to do some shameless year-listing at the 'Disney-like' birding spots in the county. <br /><br />I don't love these places, the crowds of weekend birders on the boardwalks are a little ... hmmm ... awkward, and I've never loved places where crowd gather to wander and chat in a birding spot. &nbsp;Still, &nbsp;we had time to kill and we hoped to see some year birds while waiting for the parakeets. &nbsp;First stop was the Green Cay Wetlands &amp; Nature Center where the predictable crowds of birders over the age of 70 were strolling around the boardwalks causing traffic jams near every basking alligator or close great egret. &nbsp;We did get good birds, adding Mottled Ducks, Wood Storks, Anhingas, Least Bittern, Purple Gallinule, and lots of Soras. &nbsp;Best nature sighting at this spot was a very confiding River Otter which posed for photographs close to the boardwalk. &nbsp;There were crowds, lots of chatter, and the whole place did feel like a theme park, but the wildlife was tame .... and close. &nbsp;I won't post any point-blank photos of herons or egrets (OK, just a few) ...<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gYYieLpjBwo/Uyd9F619p4I/AAAAAAAABpk/hj3-r5cGPe8/s1600/IMG_4189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gYYieLpjBwo/Uyd9F619p4I/AAAAAAAABpk/hj3-r5cGPe8/s1600/IMG_4189.JPG" height="291" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wood Stork (I feel bad for posting this, but it's Florida) ...</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q9yd-iw2b4E/Uyd9JJbeZlI/AAAAAAAABps/F4fjs_JrglA/s1600/IMG_4278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q9yd-iw2b4E/Uyd9JJbeZlI/AAAAAAAABps/F4fjs_JrglA/s1600/IMG_4278.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">American Bittern (they look colder in New York) ...</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zlg35cs9XCo/Uyd4dNQ-DmI/AAAAAAAABpA/K81aqqOqT-U/s1600/IMG_4208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zlg35cs9XCo/Uyd4dNQ-DmI/AAAAAAAABpA/K81aqqOqT-U/s1600/IMG_4208.JPG" height="220" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">River Otter (two shots)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iu3z19NRy8s/Uyd4ewaNEbI/AAAAAAAABpI/gvt7_wDmHSc/s1600/IMG_4222.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iu3z19NRy8s/Uyd4ewaNEbI/AAAAAAAABpI/gvt7_wDmHSc/s1600/IMG_4222.JPG" height="263" width="400" /></a></div><br />Then on to Wakodahatchee Wetlands where we added some Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, more close herons and a surprise (for me) Neotropic Cormorant. &nbsp;Apparently this bird has been around for a while and was overlooked for quite a while before being identified from photos taken by a New York birder. &nbsp;Nice to see one in full breeding plumage, close to the ... cough ... boardwalk. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t7Jg06dEQQo/Uyd5Ih1aPUI/AAAAAAAABpQ/yRHRNszQkLc/s1600/IMG_4257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t7Jg06dEQQo/Uyd5Ih1aPUI/AAAAAAAABpQ/yRHRNszQkLc/s1600/IMG_4257.JPG" height="247" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neotropic Cormorant in full-on breeding plumage, close to the board walk. <br />Ignored by almost all the birders present that day .....</td></tr></tbody></table>This spot also gave me an ABA bird. &nbsp;We were supposedly killing time before going to see some Nanday Parakeets at a known roost site nearby, but while we were there we had some fly-over Nandays. &nbsp;Just as well as it turns out as the roost site turned out to be a dud later in the evening. &nbsp;Great add to the ABA list.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CCxo0A6sZsA/Uyd51moI95I/AAAAAAAABpY/2R2lM_4ihN4/s1600/IMG_4237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CCxo0A6sZsA/Uyd51moI95I/AAAAAAAABpY/2R2lM_4ihN4/s1600/IMG_4237.JPG" height="217" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nanday Parakeets, recently added to the ABA list.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />SUNDAY<br /><br />So back to the Bulbuls at dawn and back to walking the suburban street of Kendall. &nbsp;I always feel awkward walking suburan streets and using bins to stare into people's gardens. &nbsp;I'm always expecting to hear sirens but perhaps the folks in this neighborhood are used to strange people with bins wandering their streets. &nbsp;Even so I'm almost manically friendly to anyone we encounter - cheerful 'good mornings' at uncomfortably loud volumes. &nbsp;Amazed that I haven't been jailed.<br /><br />Bulbuls however were not cooperating so we gave up after an hour and tried another area a little to the North. &nbsp;We did add a few more warbler species in a truly tiny patch of native vegetation, and added another introduced parrot (by now you know I love them) when some Monk Parakeets flew over. &nbsp;Still, after another hour of searching we were still drawing a blank, and then 'as if by magic' two Red-Whiskered Bulbuls flew silently over us (a few feet over our head) and flew on, vanishing into tall trees behind houses. &nbsp;Crappy, but diagnostic, views (red vents), and even though we could have kept searching for better views I'd frankly had enough of the suburbs and it was time to move on.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KQLAKqVrb18/Uyd_7ekMoAI/AAAAAAAABqE/s2JZzXspky0/s1600/IMG_4306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KQLAKqVrb18/Uyd_7ekMoAI/AAAAAAAABqE/s2JZzXspky0/s1600/IMG_4306.JPG" height="250" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not a Short-tailed Hawk even though it showed a classic Short-tailed Hawk field mark - soaring<br />with Turkey and Black Vultures. &nbsp; Turns out at Broad-winged Hawks winter in South Florida too.</td></tr></tbody></table>So onwards and back to Matheson hoping for Short-tailed Hawk. &nbsp;Perhaps they'd moved on already and, despite a couple of Broad-winged Hawks joining the vulture kettles, we skunked on that local goodie. &nbsp;We did hear some Orange-winged Parrots but couldn't get a view as they passed over, and got another look at the La Sagra's Flycatcher, but we were running out of options and I pushed Carlos to bug a friend of his who was rumored to have Shiny Cowbirds at his feeder. &nbsp;So Carlos made the call and, after a stop for excellent Peruvian Seafood (hey I was on vacation) we headed off to Homestead on a cowbird hunt.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ijBPrEmDpm0/Uyd-Hmd0MlI/AAAAAAAABp4/o8mwrE4BXgw/s1600/IMG_4333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ijBPrEmDpm0/Uyd-Hmd0MlI/AAAAAAAABp4/o8mwrE4BXgw/s1600/IMG_4333.JPG" height="328" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shiny Cowbird (hiding behind Red-winged Blackbird) in Homestead.</td></tr></tbody></table>The cowbird hunt is detailed in a &nbsp;previous post so I won't repeat but Shiny Cowbird was a good bird to add for the state and the ABA. &nbsp;After that, I was starting to get fatigued (we aren't used to sun in New York) so after a quick stop for shorebirds (and a shocking number, 40+, of Lesser Black-backed Gulls ... who knew ... ) I called the trip and headed back to the hotel. &nbsp;Great trip, good birds, great guiding from Carlos. &nbsp;A very nice way to spend a weekend away from New York.<br /><br />Anthony Collertonhttps://plus.google.com/104733093428876941521noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7143528 -74.005973140.3291648 -74.65142010000001 41.0995408 -73.3605261